Indian journalists win Diageo's inaugural women's empowerment 'WE' journalism awards

Diageo,a premium drinks company, has recognized and honoured five winning journalists from across Asia-Pacific for their outstanding reporting of women’s issues at the inaugural 2014 Women’s Empowerment (WE) Journalism Awards ceremony in Singapore. The winners from India were Sumnima Udas of CNN and Nilanjana Bhowmick of Time Magazine.

“The incredible response we received to our call for nominations for the WE Journalism Awards was very inspiring and reaffirmed Diageo’s commitment to our women’s empowerment initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Managing Director, Diageo India Pvt Ltd. “We received more than 300 entries from 11 different countries across print, online and broadcast media, proving that women’s issues are all of our issues.”

“I am exceedingly proud that we had two winning entries from India, Nilanjana Bhowmick and Sumnima Udas who are not only excellent journalists but role models and advocates for women across India and the region,” Ms Sankaranarayanan added.

CNN’s Sumnima Udas was named Journalist of the Year for her razor-sharp yet thoughtful reporting on gender issues in India, including the December 2012 New Delhi rape and murder of a young medical student. The incident, which shocked the entire nation and garnered attention from around the world, led to change in how Indian society handles sexual crimes and violence against women.

Nearly a full year of reporting led to the documentary film “Nirbhaya: The Fearless One,” which featured Ms Udas’ in-depth interview with the victim’s parents.

Caption 1: (from left) Sumnima Udas (CNN), ‘Journalist of the Year’, Gilbert Ghostine, President, Diageo Asia Pacific, and Ellanana Lee (CNN) who delivered a keynote speech at the WE Journalism Awards ceremony

Also recognised was Nilanjana Bhowmick of Time Magazine, who won the award for Online Story of the Year. Her winning article “India’s Golden Girls: How Sports and the Olympics Can Uplift Women” highlighted sport as a tool for empowerment of girls in India. The global success of India’s women athletes has gradually shifted traditional social perceptions towards women and sports. More and more parents support their daughters to play sports and to become professional athletes.

The WE Journalism Awards are part of Diageo’s “Plan W: Empowering Women through Learning” community investment programme, which launched in 2012. Through Plan W initiatives, Diageo aims to deliver training and skills development to empower two million women in 17 countries in Asia-Pacific by 2017.

Each of the award winners receives prizes worth up to US$10,000 including a cash prize of US$1,000, a WE Journalism Awards trophy, and an all-expenses paid trip to one of Plan W’s community initiatives in the region.