Editor and photographer for ROMEA's print magazine Romano voďi win first Czech edition of prestigious European prize

“The thanks for the interview that was appreciated today belongs first and foremost to Bára Bažantová, who speaks in it with great respect and empathy about the situation of people living at the Janov housing estate in Litvínov. Those people deserve great recognition for the fact that they still manage to carry on even in such cheerless conditions,” said co-author Jana Baudyšová, the editor of Romano voďi, about the winning article.

“The subject of poverty, in my opinion, is one of the most burning topics, and not just of today, but for many years gone by, and it is quite important that it be reported on not just with respect, but in context, drawing the relevant connections. Poverty affects the poorest of the poor most heavily, and at Janov the Romani residents decidedly belong in that category. The inhabitants of Janov are not the only ones, but there are many other localities that are socially excluded here, and not just them,” Baudyšová said.

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This was the first-ever year of the Echoes of Poverty Award in the Czech Republic, and Romano voďi magazine, which won one of its four awards, found itself in the company of media outlets such as public broadcasters Czech Radio and Czech Television or the Deník national newspaper franchise, which won another award. Honorable mentions were given to the publications A2larm.cz, Nový prostor and Český rozhlas Plus (Czech Radio Plus).

Echoes of Poverty is a media prize that appreciates high-quality, sensitive reporting about poverty and social exclusion. Such recognitions were first awarded in Austria in the year 2010 at the instigation of the Die Armutskonferenz network.

The prize has gradually spread to other European countries. Those behind the project are journalists and those who have themselves experienced poverty.

Awards are bestowed annually in four categories: Print media, online media, radio, and television. Nominations can be proposed not just by NGOs, but also by individuals.

The winners are decided by a jury comprised solely of people who have personal experience of poverty or social exclusion. This first annual award in the Czech Republic was announced by the Czech branch of the European Network against Poverty and Social Exclusion with the support of the ERSTE Foundation.

Czech President Petr Pavel and his wife, Eva Pavlová, gave their auspices to the event. The Echoes of Poverty award is the latest in a series of awards ROMEA has received for its activities.

In 2010 ROMEA received the Roma Spirit Award, and in 2012 it received the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Prize, awarded by the US Embassy in the Czech Republic. In 2013, news server Romea.cz was shortlisted for the “Crystal Lens” Czech Internet Award, which recognizes the most popular, interesting projects and services on the Czech Internet, and that same year the Roma Spirit Award for the ROMEA organization was given to columnist František Kostlán in the Media category.

In 2015, Zdeněk Ryšavý, editor-in-chief of Romea.cz and director of the organization, received the Roma Spirit Award. In 2016, news server Romea.cz won an international European Roma Spirit Award.

In 2019, ROMEA TV’s “Desetiminutovka” (10-Minute Talk Show) series was nominated for the prestigious 2018 Journalism Award. In 2021, Stanislava Ondová was nominated for the 2020 Journalism Award in the Regional Journalism category for her series of articles entitled “A Day on the Periphery”, published in the magazine Romano voďi.