The Evens Journalism Prize | Culture 2019
The Evens Journalism Prize 2019 | Culture goes to online platform Cartoon Movement. Graphic journalist Takoua Ben Mohamed receives the Encouragement Prize.
The award ceremony with Tjeerd Royaards (editor-in-chief at Cartoon Movement) and Takoua Ben Mohamed will be held on 2 May 2019 at BOZAR–Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on the occasion of Difference Day Opening Gala.
The Laureate
The jury reason for this year’s main prize resides in the capability of Cartoon Movement to develop a distinctive and remarkable journalistic format with a high potential for a far-reaching impact in an era where global collaborations are producing the most ground-breaking outcomes. The cooperation facilitated by this platform, allows a broad perspective on multiple pressing issues, besides an exceptional reporting quality. Diversity is guaranteed by the multitude of nationalities represented by their contributors but also by the variety of approaches and styles. Cartoon Movement supports the creation of new independent voices while stressing the importance of democratic values and ethics in the field of journalism. It knowledgeably promotes the use of humour to highlight the contradictions underlying current social concerns. Furthermore, the adoption of cartoons produces a democratising effect that makes news display immediate and accessible, irrespective of language boundaries. Thanks to these distinguishing features, Cartoon Movement positively responds to the Evens Foundation’s objective to award a laureate who could make Europe more comprehensible to a vast audience.
Cartoon Movement is a community of international editorial cartoonists and fans of political satire that offers a global online platform for editorial cartoons and comics journalism. Based in The Netherlands, Cartoon Movement receives between 60 and 100 cartoons each day from over 220 freelance cartoonists in over 80 countries. Submitted works are often purchased by corporate media publications. Cartoon Movement began in 2010 when VJ Movement founders Thomas Loudon and Arend Jan van den Beld began working with editorial cartoonist Tjeerd Royaards to promote the political cartoon as a fundamental style of journalism and to support freedom of the press and the rights of editorial cartoonists. The network of editorial cartoonists who contribute to the platform is unique and unparalleled in the world.
The Encouragement Prize
The encouragement prize goes to Takoua Ben Mohamed who focuses on the depiction of Muslim women’s everyday life, successfully voicing a rather disregarded group in conventional media portrayals. Her work is a prime example of how humour can be used to confront stereotypes, to promote empathy and to raise awareness. She creates canny connections between narrative and tangible social issues, urging the audience to reflect on the absurdity inherent to the mechanisms of discrimination and marginalisation. By encouraging her work and by fostering her approach, the Evens Foundation wishes to embrace new perspectives and to boost diversification in the field of media.
Born in Tunisia in 1991, Takoua Ben Mohamed grew up in Rome where she moved in 1999. At the age of 14, after being long engaged with youth activism and cultural and humanitarian associations, she became the founder of Intercultural Comics Blog. She graduated at Nemo Academy for Digital Arts in Florence and later studied journalism in Rome. She is the author of Woman story, Sotto il Velo and La Rivoluzione dei Gelsomini. Takoua Ben Mohamed regularly works with national and international media platforms; she also collaborates with universities, schools, associations giving lectures and workshops and organising exhibitions in galleries and museums.
The Evens Journalism Prize 2019 | Culture goes to online platform Cartoon Movement. Graphic journalist Takoua Ben Mohamed receives the Encouragement Prize.
The award ceremony with Tjeerd Royaards (editor-in-chief at Cartoon Movement) and Takoua Ben Mohamed will be held on 2 May 2019 at BOZAR–Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on the occasion of Difference Day Opening Gala.
The Laureate
The jury reason for this year’s main prize resides in the capability of Cartoon Movement to develop a distinctive and remarkable journalistic format with a high potential for a far-reaching impact in an era where global collaborations are producing the most ground-breaking outcomes. The cooperation facilitated by this platform, allows a broad perspective on multiple pressing issues, besides an exceptional reporting quality. Diversity is guaranteed by the multitude of nationalities represented by their contributors but also by the variety of approaches and styles. Cartoon Movement supports the creation of new independent voices while stressing the importance of democratic values and ethics in the field of journalism. It knowledgeably promotes the use of humour to highlight the contradictions underlying current social concerns. Furthermore, the adoption of cartoons produces a democratising effect that makes news display immediate and accessible, irrespective of language boundaries. Thanks to these distinguishing features, Cartoon Movement positively responds to the Evens Foundation’s objective to award a laureate who could make Europe more comprehensible to a vast audience.
Cartoon Movement is a community of international editorial cartoonists and fans of political satire that offers a global online platform for editorial cartoons and comics journalism. Based in The Netherlands, Cartoon Movement receives between 60 and 100 cartoons each day from over 220 freelance cartoonists in over 80 countries. Submitted works are often purchased by corporate media publications. Cartoon Movement began in 2010 when VJ Movement founders Thomas Loudon and Arend Jan van den Beld began working with editorial cartoonist Tjeerd Royaards to promote the political cartoon as a fundamental style of journalism and to support freedom of the press and the rights of editorial cartoonists. The network of editorial cartoonists who contribute to the platform is unique and unparalleled in the world.
The Encouragement Prize
The encouragement prize goes to Takoua Ben Mohamed who focuses on the depiction of Muslim women’s everyday life, successfully voicing a rather disregarded group in conventional media portrayals. Her work is a prime example of how humour can be used to confront stereotypes, to promote empathy and to raise awareness. She creates canny connections between narrative and tangible social issues, urging the audience to reflect on the absurdity inherent to the mechanisms of discrimination and marginalisation. By encouraging her work and by fostering her approach, the Evens Foundation wishes to embrace new perspectives and to boost diversification in the field of media.
Born in Tunisia in 1991, Takoua Ben Mohamed grew up in Rome where she moved in 1999. At the age of 14, after being long engaged with youth activism and cultural and humanitarian associations, she became the founder of Intercultural Comics Blog. She graduated at Nemo Academy for Digital Arts in Florence and later studied journalism in Rome. She is the author of Woman story, Sotto il Velo and La Rivoluzione dei Gelsomini. Takoua Ben Mohamed regularly works with national and international media platforms; she also collaborates with universities, schools, associations giving lectures and workshops and organising exhibitions in galleries and museums.