Developing Asia Journalism Awards Forum 2010

Indian freelance journalist Mridu Khullar was named Development Journalist of the Year at the 2010 Developing Asia Journalism Awards Ceremony on 19 November 2010 in Tokyo. Her article, The Treasure of Trash^* published in The Caravan in February 2010, explores the challenges of waste management in New Delhi and the related impact on the poor.

The Awards Ceremony was part of the 2010 Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA) Forum that brought 19 DAJA Finalists from across the Asia and Pacific region together to discuss the role of journalism in development and approaches to improving reporting on a range of development issues.

Chhun Kosal, a reporter for Economics Today^* magazine in Cambodia, won the award for Young Development Journalist of the Year for his piece The Middle Kingdom: Is Optimism over SME's Prospects Misplaced? The Young Development Journalist of the Year award is presented for the best article by a journalist under 30 years old.

More than 180 articles were submitted to the 2010 DAJA competition by journalists from 20 countries across the region in the four competition categories: Life in the City, explored issues related to rapid urbanization in Asia; Going Green?, included articles on environmental issues; New Growth Paths, examined how regional economies are reacting to the global financial crisis; and The Shape of Asia to Come, looked at issues related to regional cooperation and integration.

The winning articles were selected by a distinguished independent Panel of Judges comprising Presiding Judge Anthony Rowley (Business Times, Singapore), Hu Shuli (Caixin Media, People's Republic of China), Monzurul Huq (Daily Star and Prothom Alo, Bangladesh) and Yoshio Murakami (IHT/Asahi, Japan).

Category winners were:

• Abu Zafar Mohammad Anas of Bangladesh in the Life in the City category for his article Spectre of Eviction Stalks Slums^*
• Shyamlal Yadav of India in the Going Green? category for his article Streams of Filth^*
• Syed Zain Al-Mahmood of Bangladesh in the New Growth Paths category for his article Prosperity in Diversity^*
• Meng Yang of the People's Republic of China in The Shape of Asia to Come category for his article The Tale of PRC-DPRK Border: Black and White
• Full list of winners

The DAJA competition and Forum were organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute in cooperation with the International Institute for Journalism^* of InWEnt - Capacity Building International, Germany.

DAJA was established in 2004 to build capacity among journalists working on key development issues. The annual awards honor the work and contributions of journalists actively engaged in the responsible dissemination of knowledge related to poverty reduction, and other areas that support long-term growth in Asia and the Pacific.

* These links takes you outside the ADBI.org website