EFN thanks sponsors for supporting the 2023 Journalism Awards

The Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN) would like to congratulate all winners of this year’s EFN Journalism Awards for their exceptional work and unwavering professionalism.

The EFN cannot overemphasise the importance of a free press in these trying times, when newsrooms are limping because of media viability issues exacerbated by the big internet companies and the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The EFN wishes to remind Namibian journalists of last Saturday’s accolades showered on the country by African journalists attending the International Festival for Freedom of Expression and the Press (FILEP) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

It is a good reminder that Namibian journalists dare not drop the ball as all eyes are on this country, the birthplace of the Windhoek Declaration in 1991 and the Windhoek +30 Declaration in 2021.

What Reporters without Borders are saying year after year is that freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Namibia is unmatched elsewhere on the African continent.

Namibia’s dream, which is shared by the EFN, is to get to the top 10 countries on the index, and we are confident that this will happen sooner than later as long as Namibian journalists continue speaking truth to power, be it political, religious or economic.

Since journalism awards require substantial funding, the EFN would like to express its profound gratitude to First National Bank (FNB) Namibia, the Platinum Sponsor, Ohlthaver and List the Silver Sponsor, and Old Mutual the Bronze Sponsor for their solid support towards the awards.

The EFN would also like to thank Agra, Cecil Nurse Namibia, Hollard Namibia, Feedmaster and One Pencil Project for their financial support for the various categories that the journalists competed for, which was crucial in honouring journalism excellence.

Below are this year’s winners:

• Lazarus Amukeshe – Journalist of the Year (Prize sponsored by FNB Namibia) – The Namibian
• Tileni Mongudhi (Additional Reporting by Shinovene Immanuel and Mathias Haufiku – Politics and Governance (Prize Sponsored by Agra) -The Namibian
• Yanna Smith – Politics and Public Governance (Prize Sponsored by Agra) – Kosmos 94.1
• Timo Shihepo & Sam Sole – Agriculture, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (Prize sponsored by Feedmaster) – Freelance
• July Nafuka – Agriculture, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (Prize sponsored by Feedmaster) – Namibian Broadcasting
  Corporation (NBC)
• Charmaine Ngatjiheue & James Jamu – Mining and Energy (Prize sponsored by Old Mutual) – The Namibian
• Lazarus Amukeshe – Business, Finance and Economic Development (Prize sponsored by FNB Namibia) – The Namibian
• Tielman Van Lill – Sports (Prize sponsored by Hollard Namibia) – Republikein
• Mercy Karuuombe – Education, Health and Social Development (Prize sponsored by One Pencil Project) – The Namibian
• Joyce Kondo – Visual storytelling (Prize sponsored by Cecil Nurse Namibia) – Freelance