WNAM MONITORING: A solemn ceremony of awarding the winners and laureates of the International Contest for the 18th National Award “Oltin Qalam” (Golden Pencil) in journalism took place in the Palace of International Forums “Uzbekistan” in Tashkent.
The solemn event, organized at a high level and in a new format, was attended by famous journalists, employees of government, public organizations, and the media sphere, professors and teachers of higher education institutions in journalism, students, representatives of international organizations and embassies, and officials of media associations of several foreign countries.
At the gala event, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the “Oltin Qalam” National Award, Acting Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Uzbekistan, Kholmurod Salimov, noted that under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, large-scale reforms are being carried out in the country in the information sphere with an emphasis on increasing the public activity of journalists, their support and encouragement, and also provided detailed information about the features of this year’s competition.
In particular, it was noted that about 600 representatives of domestic and foreign media took part in the International Contest for the 18th National Award “Oltin Qalam”, presenting more than 4 thousand creative works. This, in turn, demonstrates the involvement of journalists in the process of changes and updates taking place in society.
For this year’s competition, 98 journalists working on state and non-state television channels of the country presented their materials in the direction of television, in the direction of radio – 26 people, in the direction of print media – 178, that is, the most significant number, in the direction of online publications – 75 people. The number of participants in the nomination “For the best material by a foreign journalist about Uzbekistan” also exceeded the annual figure – 100 journalists from more than 40 countries.
This year, compared to previous years, the number of editorial teams increased by three times and amounted to about 40. The nomination “For the best book of the journalistic genre” was determined as one of 12. 22 journalists who published about 30 publications competed for it.
The “Best Photo Report” winner was determined by evaluating approximately 1,500 creative works by 47 photojournalists. The fact that the number of applicants increased almost threefold compared to last year indicates the high activity of photojournalists in society.
The winners of 10 incentive categories were selected from about 550 media representatives who participated in the competition in television, radio, print, and online publications.
It is also noteworthy that several nominations were proposed by international partners at the competition. In particular, creative works were accepted in 2 categories presented by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Uzbekistan and one by the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye.
The winners of incentive nominations from international partners were awarded special diplomas and gifts. They will also receive free trips to China and Türkiye.
Considering the many competitors and the variety of creative works presented, the Union of Journalists of Uzbekistan introduced two additional nominations, and their winners were also awarded.
The competition’s main prize was awarded to the non-governmental information television channel Uzreport TV. The team was presented with a gift from the President – a Tracker car.
At the gala event, the winners were awarded statuettes, a diploma of the “Oltin Qalam” National Award, and cash rewards.
