EachOther sponsored and judged the Student Publication Association’s award for Best Human Rights Story 2021, choosing two exceptional winners.
How young journalists approach human rights questions is something we care deeply about at EachOther. Journalists often start writing about these themes at university for the hundreds of student publications across the country, many of which are members of the Student Publication Association (SPA).
Through EachOther’s first full-time editor, Jem Collins, who is an SPA Trustee, we were introduced to the association and developed with them the concept for the Best Human Rights Story category for their annual awards.
We received several incredible submissions for the 2021 competition. In fact, we were inundated with young journalists who are passionate about human rights. There were news articles, opinion pieces and long reads, alongside video submissions and stories about strikes, race, LGBTQIA+ issues, refugees and asylum seekers. The topics spanned the world, but, ultimately, they were all underpinned by the same idea that everyone is equal and deserves to have their rights as a human being respected.
The 2021 SPA Awards took place last weekend, on 8-9 May, where I spoke on a panel about the pitching process. I highlighted the pivotal points I look for in pitches while discussing how best to approach EachOther to write for our Inspired Source series.
On Sunday, 9 May, the awards for the Best Human Rights Story were handed out and we are proud to congratulate Zaman Keinath-Esmail and Ellie Ng for their outstanding pieces, as the runner-up and winner, respectively. Jamie Salem Dalgety, Ethan Marshall and Ella Robinson also received high commendations for their submissions.
Below, you can read each of the entries and our thoughts on them.
Ella Robinson – Highly Commended: Ella does a wonderful job of putting the human first in her piece, allowing the stories of disabled young people in university to shine through while never viewing them through an ableist lens. You can read Ella’s work here.
Jamie Salem Dalgety and Ethan Marshall – Highly Commended: To treat people with respect, you must speak with them directly and not from an ivory tower. Salem and Jamie do that with style in their story, encouraging more seasoned journalists to follow their example. You can read Salem and Jamie’s piece here.
Zaman Keinath-Esmail — Runner-Up: Zaman writes with a maturity well beyond her years. With a remarkable ability to articulate her internal struggles, Zaman has reminded us of how each person’s inner story is complex and worth telling. Zaman’s submission can be found here.
Ellie Ng — Winner: Ellie’s video is a brilliant portrayal of what happens in the moments when no one is looking. It focuses on the vigil at Clapham Common, London, for murder victim Sarah Everard. Ellie does the subject justice by coming back the next day, after the dust has settled following controversial police arrests at the gathering, and still finding a community looking to support one another in the wake of a horrific event. On first viewing, it felt like a wholly original angle on a much-dissected story and one we kept coming back to, due to its uniqueness. Ellie’s video can be watched here.
You can follow the SPA for more information here.
