ILO announces winners of the 2019 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration

GENEVA (ILO News) – To mark this year’s International Migrants Day on 18 December the International Labour Organization (ILO) has announced the four winners of its 2019 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration.

The ILO received more than 292 entries from 95 countries. An independent panel of four judges reviewed the entries based on the criteria of creativity, accuracy and balance, protection of migrants and positive portrayal of labour migration.

The competition aims to promote quality reporting on labour migration issues, as balanced and ethical reporting can play an important role in addressing stereotypes and misconceptions, and in highlighting the positive contribution migrant workers make in their origin and destination countries.

After a rigorous review process, the competition’s independent panel of four prominent judges have awarded the following prizes in two thematic areas:

Fair recruitment

• Bitter Harvest: Artemio's Ghost by Sara Mojtehedzadeh (author) and Melissa Renwick (photographer), published in The Star (10 October 2019). You can view the photographs here.
• Au Guatemala, Fidelia Castellanos porte la voix des travailleuses domestiques by Louise Pluyaud, published in TVMONDE5 (14 December 2018)

The future of labour migration

• A Syrian woman's answer to refugee childcare in Turkey by Stefania D'Ignoti, published in Middle East Eye (18 April 2019)
• Japón envejece: ¿migrantes, robots y jubilados para combatir la crisis demográfica? by Carmen Grau Vila, published in Equal Times (28 October 2019)

The competition contributes to some of the targets of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees, which include improving working conditions for migrant workers and positively influencing public narratives on migration.

“The prize-winning articles in this year’s competition demonstrate the complex challenges involved in ensuring fair recruitment and preparing for the future of work for both migrant workers and their home and host communities,” said Michelle Leighton, Chief of the ILO’s Labour Migration Branch. “Through these stories we see the determination and resilience of migrants in their search for decent work opportunities and a better life for them and their families.”

The stories highlight the importance of implementation of the ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs – which recognize the principle that workers shall not be charged any fees or related costs for their recruitment – and the need for fair and effective labour migration frameworks, institutions and services to protect migrant workers.

The competition is supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the International Federation of Journalists, Equal Times, Solidarity Centre and Migrant Forum in Asia. This year's competition was organized with the support of the European Union-funded ‘Global Action to Improve the Recruitment Framework of Labour Migration’ (REFRAME) project and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation-funded ‘Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment – Phase II’ (FAIR II).

Disclaimer

The ILO recognizes the quality of the competition entries submitted. However, the responsibility for opinions expressed and names and terms used in the competition entries rests solely with their authors, and reproduction of the entries does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO of the opinions expressed and names and terms used in them.