OTTAWA (ON), May 3, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ – Journalist Fatima Syed and tai huynheditor and publisher of The Local, were declared co-winners of the 2022 Press Freedom Award by the Ottawaadvocacy group based at World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC).

The Local is an online startup publication in Toronto. At the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, Syed traveled to the Peel Region community to report on the impact of the virus on the community, which is dominated by immigrants and frontline workers . His series of groundbreaking articles caused the national media to focus on Peel.

As Syed brought word-of-mouth indications of Peel’s COVID horrors, Huynh saw data indicating the region had high infection rates and limited access to vaccines. He secured funding from the Vohra Miller Foundation to fund coverage of a topic that had been neglected.

The two winners will share a $2,000 price.

The WPFC annual award recognizes the outstanding achievements of Canadian media workers who produce public interest journalism while overcoming secrecy, threats and intimidation, refusal to comply with freedom of information requests or other factors that prevent the collection of information.

WPFC also awarded a Press Freedom Award Citation of Merit to Kathleen Martens, digital reporter for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). Martens has spent years pursuing stories of sexual assault and harassment in the Indigenous community, including a 2021 article exposing accusations of assault against a prominent Indigenous healer. She and her employer APTN have often been attacked by supporters of the male leaders involved in the articles.

spencer moore Lifetime Achievement Award

Stephanie Nolan is the winner of spencer moore Lifetime Achievement Award for lifetime achievement as a foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail. Nolen is now with the New York Times.

Throughout his career, spanning four continents, Nolan has shown extraordinary courage and compassion in his coverage of wars and internal conflicts: AIDS, Zika virus, mass murder and political cover-ups. She was an inspiration to a generation of young reporters, especially female reporters. The Spencer Moore Award, named after one of WPFC’s founding directors, is given to a journalist or media worker to honor their long work in pursuit of freedom of the press.

“The winners of this year’s press freedom award represent the essence of public service journalism by shining a light on people who have been overlooked by the media and underserved by their governments during a national crisis,” said the president of the WPFC. Heather Bakken. “Canadians were fortunate to have a courageous journalist from by Stephanie Nolen caliber sharing its focus on the world for nearly three decades.”

To learn more about the winners and their work, visit www.worldpressfreedomcanada.ca.

Editorial cartoon contest winners

The WPFC also announced that Marilena Nardi is the overall winner of the 21st International Editorial Cartoon Competition, on the theme: Silence is Golden: Cancel Culture on Social Media. The second prize goes to Patrick LaMontagne of Canmore, AB.and third prize to Serbian Tošo Borković (Toshow).

Born in 1966, Marilena Nardi is from Chiampi, Italyand is a former winner of the World Press Freedom Cartoon in Ottawa. A graduate in sculpture, she is now professor of illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.

Winning cartoons are available on our website.

About World Press Freedom Canada

World Press Freedom Canada (formerly Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom Canada) is a Ottawagroup of volunteers whose mission is to raise public awareness of the right to freedom of expression, identify violations and defend freedom of the press. The advocacy group works with sponsorship from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and supportive sponsorship from the Canadian Bankers Association.

SOURCE World Press Freedom Canada

For further information: For more information and to arrange media interviews, please contact: Shawn McCarthy at 613-294-4491