An Unexpected Honor

A week ago today, I received the following message announcing that an article I wrote, and that was published in The Panama News, has been nominated for an international award:


Mr. Silvio Sirias
The Panama News
Panama

Dear journalist friend,

You wrote an article entitled “Me, the right winger,” which appeared in the January 20-February 2, 2008 issue of The Panama News.

The topic of your journalistic work meets precisely the themes defended by the Lorenzo Natali Prize! This prize, launched by the European Commission rewards journalists committed to Human Rights, Democracy and Development.

Initially set for the written and online press, the Lorenzo Natali Prize opens up this year to journalists from radio and TV. The prize applies to journalists working for local media in one of the five following regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Arab World and the Middle East.

We invite you to apply for the 2008 Natali Prize. The deadline for the reception of the journalistic work is June 30th 2008.

The 15 winners of the Lorenzo Natali Prize will be guests of honour of the European Union in November of 2008. On the occasion of a special evening which will take place during the 2008 European development days, Louis Michel will hand out the trophies and awards to the winners.

Overall 50,000 euros of prize money will awarded to the best pieces of work.

Best regards,

John Wallford, Prize Coordinator


I’m thrilled to be nominated for a prize in journalism. In truth, I’ve tried to model quite a few of my blog entries on the journalistic writings of Mario Vargas Llosa, one of my literary heroes. To learn more about the Lorenzo Natali Prize, click here.

The nominated article forms part of a thread that began with the piece “A Time to Step Aside.” I invite everyone to read, or reread, “Me, the Right Winger” as it appeared in The Panama News.