Myanmar Eleven Media CEO wins global freedom award
Dr Than Htut Aung, CEO of Eleven Media Group, has won the Golden Pen of Freedom for 2013 awarded by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers WAN-IFRA.
The IFRA founded in 1961 started awarding Golden Pen of Freedom to the outstanding journalists around the world who braved for freedom of press. In addition to that, the association is granting the award to the wonderful journalists in honour of their excellent performance in the media field.
The Golden Pen of Freedom went to only three Myanmar journalists in the past. Guardian Sein Win won the first-ever prize of Golden Pen of Freedom in 1963 while Hanthawady Win Tin and Thayawady San San Nweh together won the prize for 2011.
Dr Than Htut Aung would be the fourth Myanmar journalist who won the Golden Pen of Freedom in 2013.
The Golden Pen of Freedom for 2013 will be awarded at the opening ceremony of the 65th World Newspaper Congress to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from June 3 to 5.
CEO Dr Than Htut Aung of Eleven Media Group will attend and accept the impressive prize as well as deliver a speech on the occasion.
WAN-IFRA's event is expected to draw more than 1,000 publishers, chief editors, CEOs, journalists from renowned news agencies and TV channels, advertising directors and guests to the vibrant city of Bangkok.
The Golden Pen of Freedom Award is an annual international journalism award given by the WAN to individuals or organisations.
It also aims to recognise the excellent performance of the journalists who braved and fought for the truth against dictatorship.
The WAN-IFRA described that the prize-winning journalists might have seen sacrifice, imprisonment, oppression, killing and threatening.
Up to now, there are 48 journalists who had won the prize. China won the prize for four times and Myanmar for three times.
Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam from Asian region won once each. The last winner was Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez.
Hanthawady Win Tin and Thayawady San San Nweh shared the prize in 2001, but they were unable to attend the award ceremony for various reasons. The two Myanmar journalists accepted the prize only in recent days.
The World Newspaper Congress is annually held. The last country that held the congress was Ukraine in 2012 and now is in Thailand.
Eleven Media is a member of Asia News Network, and the partner in English language publishing with The Nation in Myanmar.