The 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Journalism Prize was awarded on Wednesday to the “Lost in Europe” investigation into the disappearance of more than 50 thousand unaccompanied children.
The investigation, which involved media outlets from Germany, Italy, Greece (Reporters United), the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom, revealed that from 2021 to 2023 at least 51,433 unaccompanied migrant children disappeared after arriving in European countries .
At the awards ceremony held at the Daphne Caruana Galizia Press Room of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the president of the Chamber, Roberta Metzola, Pina Pitierno, vice-president responsible for the award, as well as members of the independent pan-European jury for the award were present.
In the context of the event, the President of the European Parliament stated: “Daphne Caruana Galizia’s legacy continues through the work of journalists who live to reveal the truth and who refuse to remain silent. Your fight for justice overcomes the threats of those who try to undermine your great work. Freedom of the press is non-negotiable. Seven years after Daphne’s murder, we continue to honor her memory with an award that reminds us of Parliament’s enduring commitment to these fundamental values.”
From May 3 to July 31, 2024, hundreds of journalists from the 27 EU countries submitted their nominations for the award. The jury initially selected 13 of the 318 nominations and then selected the final winner of the award.
Congratulations @Lost_in_EUwinners of this year’s edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Journalism Prize.@Europarl_EN will continue to do its part in building a Europe where journalists can work free from fear, harassment and violence. pic.twitter.com/GMfQJRvEWC
– Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) October 23, 2024
The search “Lost in Europe”
The “Lost in Europe” survey revealed shocking information showing that, from 2021, every day, an average of 47 children will disappear after arriving in Europe.
The journalists involved in the investigation collected data from 31 European countries (among others from Austria, Germany and Italy), based on which it is revealed that tens of thousands of immigrant children have disappeared on our continent in recent years.
The months-long journalistic investigation even showed that the number of missing children could be even higher, as inconsistencies in registration and poor data collection in some countries create significant gaps in the data collected.
These latest revelations are a continuation of the original “Lost in Europe” survey that was carried out in 2021 and in which it was found that from 2018 to 2020 more than 18,000 migrant children went missing in Europe.
As Aagje Ieven, secretary general of Missing Children Europe, said, the findings are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, as migrant children continue to disappear at an alarming rate in Europe and there are fears that many of these children may have been victims. human trafficking and modern slavery.
The following publishing organizations jointly participated in the conduct and publication of the research: De Standaard (Belgium), Small Stream Media (Netherlands), RBB (Germany), Knack (Belgium), ANSA (Italy), Domani (Italy), CNN (United Kingdom /USA), VRT (Belgium), Editors’ Newspaper (Greece), The Journal (Ireland), Tagesschau (Germany) and NRC (Netherlands).
The Journalism Award
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Journalism Prize was created in December 2019 by a decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament in honor of the Maltese investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, known for her fight against corruption, who was killed in a car bomb in 2017. .
The award is given every year, close to the anniversary of the assassination, to high-level investigative journalism that promotes or defends the fundamental principles and values of the European Union, such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the State of law and human rights.
Nominations for the award can be made by professional journalists and teams of professional journalists from any country in the world. Investigations and reports are accepted as long as they have been published or broadcast in media outlets based in any of the 27 member states of the European Union. The objective of the award is to support and highlight the importance of the journalism profession in guaranteeing freedom, equality and opportunities.
The independent jury includes representatives of the press and civil society from the 27 EU Member States, as well as a representative from the International Federation of Journalists.
The award and monetary prize of 20,000 euros demonstrate, in practice, the European Parliament’s support for investigative journalism and press freedom.