Awards

In their investigation, Sofia da Palma Rodrigues and Manuel Bívar gathered "accounts from those who started fires for no apparent reason" in various parts of the country, and turned it into a compelling audio narrative. Now the podcast - a Divergente production in collaboration with El Confidencial, supported by Journalismfund's Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme - received yet another award. This time, it is the 2025 Prémio Gazeta for Best Radio Journalism, one of Portugal’s leading journalism awards, organised by the national Journalists’ Club and presented since 1984.

The journalists Andrada Lăutaru, Willemijn Sneep and Zuza Nazaruk have been nominatedOpens in a new tab for the Golden Freelancer award organised by freelance collective Bureau Wibaut, with their investigation The Price of Clean Streets. During the symposium The Golden Freelancer on November 6th, a professional jury will announce the winner.

A short documentary about migrant workers in Romania and Italy has received the Premio Jerry Masslo 2026, awarded by the Italian agricultural workers' union Flai CGIL. The film premiered at the awards ceremony on 3 October 2026.

Journalists Iulia Hau, Sebastian Viskanic and Filippo Poltronieri received the award in Caserta, Italy, where their 13-minute documentary was screened for the first time. The ceremony closed a three-day programme of debates and commemorations held in Caserta and Villa Literno. The film is part of the cross-border project The Broken Bridge: How Legal Work Permits Lead to Slavery, which is supported by Journalismfund's European Cross-border grant programme, among others.

Manuel Vilas of GaliciaPress, whose investigation into eucalyptus and forest fires across Galicia and Portugal was supported by Journalismfund Europe, has won the XXII Johan Carballeira Journalism Prize, awarded by the municipality of Bueu. His article "Ni pirómano ni inocente: el eucalipto arde bien en un rural abandonado" was chosen from nine entries. The jury praised its original analysis of eucalyptus's role in wildfires, its use of diverse data sources, and its narrative style.

Raphaëlle Aubert, Romain Imbach and Elsa Delmas of Le Monde - the French team of Green to Grey, a large cross-border investigation supported by Journalismfund Europe which used satellite data to show how nature is disappearing from the continent – has won the Environment and Climate category of the Louise Weiss European Journalism Award.

The cross-border investigative project Exporting Abortion, realised with support from Journalismfund Europe, has won first prize in the "Women's Health" category of the Semmelweis–Richter International Journalism Award. The prize, worth €10,000, was awarded by Semmelweis University and Gedeon Richter Plc., which use the award to recognise outstanding European health and science journalism.

The "Carbon Deceit" investigation, supported by Journalismfund Europe, has won the 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Award in the Writing category.

Of the five Journalismfund Europe-supported investigations shortlisted earlier this year for IJ4EU Impact Awards 2026, two — The Forever Lobbying Project and Factories on the Run: Inside the Global Trade That Moves PFAS Downstream - became winners, and the third one – Killing for the Photo Opportunity – received an honourable mention.

The 'Price of a Child' investigation is among the finalists in the Italian Press category. In her article "The Racket of Stolen Children" in L'Espresso, Sabrina Pisu reveals an illegal system of abducting newborns in Armenia for international adoption (many of which are in Italy), documenting the violence against mothers and the responsibilities of Italian institutions and bodies.

Under the Balkan Route category, "The Silent Border" investigation by Sofia Turati, Cecilia Fasciani, Margherita Capacci, Christian Elia and Maria Cheresheva is shortlisted. The investigation denounces the militarisation of the border between Bulgaria and Turkey and the abuses of the border police with Frontex, revealing the lack of an identification system for migrants who died or disappeared in the woods of Strandsha and the drama of their families.

“Criminal Captains”, an investigation supported by Journalismfund Europe, has been awarded the Prix Décryptage at the 21st Prix Louise Weiss du journalisme européen.

Published in La Revue Dessinée, the investigation by Fabien Perrier and Taina Tervonen examines the criminalisation of migrants who steer boats during crossings to Europe. Through cases in France, Greece, Spain, Italy and the UK, the journalists reveal how people at the helm of migrant boats can face severe human-trafficking charges despite having little or no role in organising or profiting from the crossings.

The investigation challenges the narrative that these convictions necessarily represent successful action against human-smuggling networks, highlighting instead the complex realities behind the prosecution of so-called “boat drivers”.

Boy Wasted, a podcast based on the investigation which SmokeTrail Productions and Adnan Khan carried into gruesome realities of plastic recycling facilities in Turkey, is the finalist for Audio of the Year at the Dig Awards 2026.

Forever Lobbying Project by Stéphane Horel, Raphaëlle Aubert and 44 journalists, academics and media partners in 16 countries, that calculated the cost of PFAS "forever chemical" pollution remediation in Europe at over €2 trillion, is shortlisted for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2026.

Inside the Global Trade That Moves PFAS Downstream by Gianluca Liva, Marta Frigerio, Anna Violato and Filippo Tommasoli , with Thomas Goorden, that traced how the PFAS-producing Miteni plant shut down after poisoning 350,000 residents in Veneto was dismantled and rebuilt near Mumbai, where it has resumed production, is shortlisted for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2026.

Exporting Abortion by Nacho Calle, Sergio Sangiao and Emilia García Morales, with Maria Delaney and Órla Ryan and journalists from more than ten countries, that documented for the first time that at least 5,860 women were forced to cross borders for an abortion in Europe in 2023 alone, and more than 25,000 since 2019, is shortlisted for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2026.

Congo’s European Shadow Soldiers by Andrei Popoviciu, Emmet Livingstone, Marine Leduc and Ana Poenariu, journalists reporting across DR Congo, Romania, France and Moldova, that exposed how Romanian, Moldovan and French security contractors deployed to support the DRC's army operated as unlawful mercenaries and traced the offshore financial network of their leader, is shortlisted for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2026.

Killing for Photo Opportunity : Story Behind the Only Photographs of an Execution in the Yugoslav Wars by Barbara Matejčić, that spent three years reconstructing how the only professional photographs of an execution during the Bosnian War came to exist, and raised evidence the killing was staged for the camera, is shortlisted for the IJ4EU Impact Award 2026.

The story "The Sajó Catastrophe: The Story of the Red River", reported jointly by Paraméter and Borsod24, was awarded second place in the July Press Award presented by the Hungarian Association of Journalists (MÚOSZ).

EU Funds Meant for Inclusion are Fuelling Roma Marginalisation investigation won the Digital Storytelling & Social Media Award at the Voices - European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom 2026, with their article in Unbiased the News.

The project received a Special Prize in the Print/Online category of the "Poverty with Dignity Press Award", an initiative run by the member organisations of the European Anti-Poverty Network.

The story "‘Migrants in their own land’: climate displacement at Europe’s external borders" reported by Lydia Emmanouilidou for Solomon, as part of the project How Refugee and Climate Crises Collide on Greek and Italian Islands, was awarded winner in the Border Stories award supported by the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli.

On Wednesday 10 June, the KBR (Royal Library of Belgium) presented the painting La Buveuse d’absinthe (1877) by the Belgian artist Félicien Rops (1833–1898) to the descendants of Armand Dorville (1875–1941). The ball started rolling when Geert Sels reported in De Standaard in early 2020 that the Royal Library had acquired a watercolour by Félicien Rops from a forced auction in Nice. At the end of 2022, following the publication of a book Art for the Reich (available in English soon), claims arose concerning works in the Fine Arts Museums of Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp.

Hamshika's puzzle investigation by Hamshika Krishnamoorthy, Hannah Kirmes-Daly, Leon Spring, Benja Zehr, Al Jazeera (International) telling the story of how a Sri Lankan woman seeking asylum in the UK ended up in Rwanda is chose as the Runner-Up in the Migration Journalism category. According to the jury, “The story and its display are gripping and extremely well put together. It is visual journalism at its finest — the story draws on multiple visual and storytelling resources to support the reporting.”

Business or pleasure? Who actually uses Antwerp Airport? an investigation by Loes Debuysere & Sarah D'Hertefelt supported by the Pascal Decroos Fund was longlisted for De Loep — the most important award for investigative journalism in the Low Countries.

Boy Wasted, a podcast funded via our Environmental Investigative grant programme won 'Podcast of the Year' at the British Society of Magazine Editors awards 2026. The investigation focused on waste export chains and on-the-ground consequences in Turkey.

Journalists Suzana Miceva and Aleksandar Metodijev have received the second prize awarded by the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia for The Illegal Paths of Waste, their cross-border investigation into illegal waste trafficking in the Balkans.

The Forever Lobbying Project has been awarded a Fetisov Journalism Award in the category of Excellence in Environmental Journalism, recognising outstanding investigative reporting on environmental issues.

The Forever Lobbying Project by Stéphane Horel, Raphaëlle Aubert (coordinators, Le Monde (France)) and 44 journalists, academics and media partners in 16 countries, that calculated the cost of PFAS "forever chemical" pollution remedia

Scrap Wars investigation by Sofia Cherici, Andrés Mourenza, Mohammed Bassiki and Doğu Eroğlu, proving that conflict-zone scrap metal stripped from bombed neighbourhoods in Syria, Libya and Ukraine is funding active war machines, with exclusive documents implicating Assad's presidential palace is nominated in the Investigative Reporting category.

Killing for the Photo investigation by Barbara Matejčić, BIRN (Serbia),and Novosti (Croatia), reporting on the chilling circumstances surrounding the only professional photograph to capture the act of execution during the Bosnian War in the former Yugoslavia is nominated in the Distinguished Reporting category.

The photographic investigation The Price of a Child, supported by Journalismfund Europe, has won First Prize in the “Body” categoryOpens in a new tab at the Rovinj Photodays Festival. The project has also been selected for exhibition and publication in the festival catalogue.

“The Maltese Falcon Poachers: How European Hunters Endanger Egypt's Birds,” investigation by Mahmoud Elsobky and Wael El_Sayegh with The New Arab has been awarded first place in the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting 2026 (Small category) by the Society of Environmental Journalists Awards for Reporting on the Environment 2026.

Boy Wasted podcast has made it to the final of the Amnesty Media Awards in the Radio & Podcast category. The winners of each category will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at BFI Southbank in London on Wednesday 6 May 2026.

Coal at the Crossroads: Pollution vs Green Transition investigation received the CfA: North Macedonia: “Nikola Mladenov 2025” Journalism Awards for their documentary and online articles related to the project. Read more about it here.

In their investigation, Julia Bourdin, Maya Misikir and Tommy Trenchard examined the gap between the Great Green Wall’s grand promises and its on-the-ground reality. In March 2026, the photos taken during this project were awarded the Sony Sustainability Award and shortlisted for the environmental category of the Sony Photography Awards.

The work of journalists on this subject was supported via Journalismfund's Earth investigations programme.

Exporting Abortion investigation received the Voices Awards 2026, in the Press, Video & Documentary Journalism category. The jury praised the investigation for its varied methodology, clear language, and human-centered approach, as well as its excellent data visualizations that make a complex cross-border issue accessible to a wide audience.

The Arsonist County investigation won the Voices 2026 Award, in the “Journalism — Radio and Podcast” category.

Mapping Housing Affordability for Essential Workers in Europe investigation won the Digital Storytelling & Social Media Award at the Voices Festival 2026, with their project.

Feeding Europe, Failing Workers investigation won the Voices 2026 Award, in the "Press, Video and Documentary Journalism" category.

The article in LongPlay from The European Manure Dilemma investigation, by Hanna Nikkanen and Lotta Närhi, is shortlisted for the True Story Awards 2026 in the category "Europe."

The article published in Novosti and Birn from the Killing for Photo Opportunity investigation, by Barbara Matejcic, is shortlisted for the True Story Awards 2026 in the category "Europe."

The article in the New Lines Magazine from the Making Space for Bison in Europe investigation, by Adina Florea, Chahrazade Douah, Tadeusz Michrowski, is shortlisted for the True Story Awards 2026 in the category "English".

The Portuguese investigative journalism magazine Divergente has been awarded the King of Spain International Journalism Prize in the Environmental category, for their podcast “País de Incendiários” [“Arsonist Country”], an outcome of the eponymous cross-border investigation, supported via our Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme.

Forest Fraud: South East Asia's Protected Forests Fall Victim to Greenwashing an investigation supported via Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme, has been shortlisted for Sigma Awards 2026.

Green to Grey, an investigation supported via Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme, has been shortlisted for Sigma Awards 2026.

Mannen die zwijgen (Men who remain silent) a book in which Tomas Vanheste explores the stigma attached to male fertility issues, examining possible causes and treatments was long listed for De Sociologische Bril 2026.

Fantastique, the magical-realist documentary by Marjolijn Prins won the Young Eyes Award at DOK Leipzig as well as the Premio UNICEF Kids at Castellinaria Festival. The documentary follows the 14-year-old Fanta, who juggles between care for her ailing mother, school, and what she loves the most: Training with the acrobatic circus Amoukanama, with the hopes of joining their next big tour.

The documentary, produced as a part of the cross-border investigation by Boaventura Mojane, Juan Maza Calleja and Davide Mancini, received the Hostwriter Story Prize 2025, for compelling visual reporting in informing and connecting broad audiences. Their investigation revealed how Mozambique has been planting more eucalyptus to feed Europe's packaging demand - and how damaging it has resulted for the country.

Barbara Matejčić, a Croatian freelance journalist from Zagreb, Croatia, who focuses on social issues and human rights, accepted the “Srđan Aleksić“ regional (Western Balkans) award for courage and excellence in journalism.

Matejčić's investigative work showcases the very high standards in journalism where she reconstructed a wartime event that has remained distorted for decades.

Leonie Gubela has won the German-Czech Media Award in the Text Category on 21/11/2025 with the investigation Migration of Care supported by the Local Cross-border grant programme. You can watch the video showed at the ceremony.

The Jury comment stated: "Leonie Gubela writes about Czech women who care for German seniors, but she has succeeded in capturing a Europe-wide, if not even worldwide phenomenon. The author has not been satisfied with a domestic perspective, which would naturally always be limited and incomplete on this topic. Rather, the original impulse was a cross-border journalistic cooperation, the importance of which this text testifies to in a networked world."

País de Incendiários, a podcast resulting from the Arsonist Country investigation supported by Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme, won the award for best “Digital Sound Narrative” at the 18th Edition of the Cyberjournalism Awards, by ObCiber.

This documentary is the result of the cross-border investigation by Davide Mancini, Boaventura Monjane and Juan Maza Calleja, Mozambique Plants More Eucalyptus to Feed Europe's Packaging Demand. It has been nominated for the Climat change Award at Ferrara Film Corto Festival "Ambiente è Musica"

Among the ten finanlists for the 2025 edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, three were supported by Journalismfund Europe:

Oil Extraction and Ecocide in Iraq

Killing for photo opportunity

Forever lobbying

For a photo taken during the European Plastic Burns in Indonesia investigation, Edu Ponces was awarded the 2nd Prize in / Editorial / Press / Environmental category at International Photography Awards 2025. n exposes how plastic waste illegally exported from the European Union to Indonesia, hidden in paper recycling shipments, has created a public health and environmental crisis in East Java, contaminating rivers, food chains, and communities with toxic pollution.

Diana Köhler and Johanna Tirnthal received the Papageno Prize awarded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection for their radio piece broadcasted on Ö1. "A price on prevention in suicide in Austria" was part of the cross-border investigation on farmers' suicides in Austria and Germany.

Left Behind, Marijn Fidder's photo documentary project about the children left behind by economic migrants from Romania and Moldova, has received an International Photography Award in the category 'Professional Editorial / Press, Contemporary Issues'. She receives the award after previously winning a Zilveren Camera and a Second Prize for Documentary Photography at the Sarajevo Photography Festival earlier this month.

Stoffelijk, a five-part science journalism podcast about what happens when you donate your body to science, has received an honorable mention in the Category 'Radio & Podcast' at the Belfius Press Prizes. The award goes to Veerle Duflou and Wederik De Backer who went to the University of Antwerp's anatomy lab to find out what happened to the body of Valère — Veerle Duflou's partner — ten years after his death.

This cross-border investigation coordinated by Le Monde, was carried out in 2024 by 46 journalists with the support of 18 experts in various disciplines. It exposes how the chemical industry lobbied against EU action on PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals”, linked to ongoing environmental and public health risks.

They received the award in the “Investigative” category for their article "Ein Klimakiller namens Flaring." The piece was part of the #BurningSkies cross-border investigation, which exposed the global impact of gas flaring on the climate. Presented by Netzwerk Recherche, the award honored their exceptional contribution to climate reporting. With meticulous data analysis and field reporting, they vividly illustrated the severe consequences of flaring for both the environment and affected communities, emphasizing the importance of cross-border investigative journalism in the climate crisis.

Ireland’s data centres turning to fossil fuels after maxing out country’s electricity grid', the article published by Conor O'Carroll and Pablo Jiménez Arandia in The Journal Investigates, as a part of this investigations, was shortlisted by the Law Society of Ireland for the Justice Media Awards 2025 in the category ''Environmental Law/Climate Justice Reporting.

Baby Number 12 investigation is selected as a nominee for the Prix Europa 2025 in the audio investigation category.

"In an important environmental data-driven investigation that could be replicated on other continents, this cross-border project exposed a hidden, climate change-fueled crisis in the groundwater system that sustains Europe. With sophisticated data analysis techniques, this investigation risked becoming a dry recitation of the results. But the news organizations found ways to keep it engaging and interactive. It led readers through the details of each pollutant without overwhelming them with detail that might detract from the storytelling," the jury pointed out.

'Veneno en el grifo', part of the 'Under the Surface' cross-border project, got an honorary mention at Vicente Verdú Awards for Journalism and Innovation 2025, underscoring the journalists' commitment to serve the real needs of the audience and create practical solutions for citizens. The Vicente Verdú Award is a benchmark for innovation in Spanish journalism, and in its fifth edition, continued to recognise initiatives that add value to society.

Suzana Miceva and Aleksandar Metodijev received a "Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Journalistic Engagement in the Best Investigative Story Category" at the 2024 "Nikola Mladenov" Journalist Awards Competition for their investigation The Unbreathable Air of the Western Balkans. This competition was organized by the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) and has carried the name of journalist and Fokus magazine owner Nikola Mladenov since 2013, following his tragic death in a car accident.

This interactive documentary reveals that more than a million people in Spain live in critical points of nitrate pollution in tap water at levels that pose a health risk, a figure well above that managed so far. This is an investigation that is part of the project "Under the Surface," in which 14 journalists from seven European media worked together to investigate the situation of aquifers throughout and in each of their countries in Europe.

Evelien Rutten received the title of Master Storyteller in the Listening Category for the Roadtrip To Auschwitz podcast. The title is awarded every year by the Stichting Verhalende Journalistiek to the best narrative journalism produced in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Turkey’s Deportation Machine investigation by Lighthouse Reports (Netherlands) Politico (Europe), Der Spiegel (Germany), El País (Spain), Le Monde (France), NRC (Netherlands), Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism Association (Syria), Etiliaat Roz (Afghanistan), and L’Espresso (Italy) is chosen as a finalist for Global Investigative Journalism Network's 2025 Global Shining Light Awards.

This collaborative cross-border project showed how the European Union has effectively, and secretly, outsourced its migrant deportation system to an inhumane removals network in Turkey. The team found that the EU has channeled hundreds of millions of euros to build and maintain 30 removal centers in Turkey, and to fund systems there that detain and deport Syrian and Afghan migrants and refugees. As the competition entry noted: “The EU deems it unsafe to deport people back to Syria and Afghanistan, yet it makes Turkey a buffer zone to stop them reaching Europe — in return for billions of euros.”

Alessia Cerantola is listed as a finalist for the Radio Category, as the author for Tre Soldi Rai Radio3 of "Baby Number 12", a documentary that tells the investigation into thousands of irregular adoptions organized by Alice Honegger since the Second World War.

Stefania d'Ignoti, Davide Maria De Luca, Cecilia Butini are listed as finalists in the Italian Press category , who published on Domani "Ukraine, the diaspora of children: the orphans disputed between Rome and Kiev", an investigation into the fate of children first entrusted to Spanish and Italian families and then "claimed" by the Ukrainian authorities

Baby number 12 won the silver medal, or silver at the New York Festivals, Investigative Podcast category.

Marijn Fidder received the Zilveren Camera photography award in the category International Documentary for her project Left Behind. The long-term project documents the lives of EU orphans in Romania and Moldova.

The team of journalists who worked on this data-inspired investigation received the award in the category 'Journalism / Impact / Cross-border investigative reporting.'

Both finalists in the 2025 edition of the King of Spain International Journalism Award came from the teams who carried out investigations with the support of Journalismfund Europe's Environmental Investigative journalism grant programme. Datadista was nominated for 'Under the Surface' project, and four team members were nominated for the 'Finnish Forests in the Uruguayan Pampas' investigation.

The King of Spain International Awards for journalismOpens in a new tab, EFE, 20/03/2025, for Datadista's contribution

Ula Idzikowska's article 'You won't be free without your own food' in Oko.press and Sara Manisera's article 'Europa – Costa Rica – Europa: Il Triangle Delle Banane' in Millennium were shortlisted in the European selection for the True Story Award 2025.

The articles were a part of the 'Does Fighting for Peace Building in Israel and Palestine Still Make Sense?' and The Bitter Taste of Bananas Coming from Costa-Rica to Europe investigations.

Another article, "Wer braucht hier Heilung?," from "Inside Europe's Secret Conversion Therapy Conference" project under the ECBG grant programme has also been nominated for True Story Award 2025 in the German category.

Fabian Federl's article 'Dona Mirtes und die Männer in der Goldgrube', part of Toxic gold - French Guiana's Illegal Mines investigation, won the award in the Excellence in Environmental Journalism category.

Alessia Cerantola's Baby Number 12 Investigation has been selected for the EBU Audio Storytelling Festival 2025.

Tina Xu and Gabriela Ramírez received the European Commission’s Award for Journalism - Lorenzo Natali Award 2024 - for their article "Widowed by Europe's Borders", part of the Border Graves Investigation. The jury appreciated that the authors fo the investigation called attention to the urgent need for humane immigration policies that respect human rights and dignity.

Carla Tomás, Micael Pereira, Sara Pinho, Sofia Miguel Rosa and José Fernandes, who were all part of the Digging for Water on the Front Lines of Climate Collapse investigation's team, won the third place in the Portuguese edition of the 2024 EIT Food Journalism Awards for their article in Expresso.

This environmental investigation by Sonda Internacional, Lily Mayers, Mikel Konate and Paulo Nunes dos Santos received the honorary mention for the Solutions Journalism award from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA)

Ilyas Yourish's film Kamay is a moving reflection on love, loss and perseverance despite growing unrest on the eve of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

• Interreligious Award,Opens in a new tab Visions Du Réel
• Cinema of Urgency awardOpens in a new tab, IKTOR DOK.horizonte Competition – DOK.fest
• Elevate AwardOpens in a new tab & Special mention,Opens in a new tab International Competition – DOXA Documentary Film Festival
• Shortlist - Best Feature DocumentaryOpens in a new tab, International Documentary Awards
• Special Mention, Human Rights Film Festival Berlin
• Nominated — Best Documentary Film, Asia Pacific Screen Awards

The journalists received the 3rd place in the EU Awards for Investigative Journalism in North Macedonia for their documentary Fragile Forests. The EU Investigative Journalism Award is organised by Thomson Media.

The Ivan Bonfanti award was given to the journalists in appreciation of their reportage describing the disastrous human and environmental consequences of oil extraction in Iraq, oil that Eni then transports to Italy. That article was published by Irpi Media as part of The Price of Oil investigation.

Kinshuk Surjan's debut documentary film Marching in the Dark sheds light on the high suicide rate among farmers in rural regions in India.

– Young Critics Award & Audience Award, Biografilm Festival

– Human:Rights, Special Mention, CPH:DOX Festival

– Shortlist, European Film Awards

– Special Mention, Zurich Film Festival

– Best Film in the Emerging Filmmakers Competition, Nepatogus Kinas

– Gender Sensitivity Award, Dharamshala International Film Festival

Aida Ciro, Aleksandar Dimitrievski and Geri Emiri received the award for exposing the challenges faced by Balkan farmers in accessing EU funds through the IPARD Program.

Read more about this investigation here.

Dirty Deals is part of the cross-border investigation Dirty Deals: Illegal Waste Trade by Marius Münstermann, Michael Billig and Zuzana Šotová. It focuses on waste recycling products which are meant to be good materials for recultivation, but in fact may come with pieces of plastic, and reveals how certain companies exported useless waste from Germany to Czechia for profit.

This prize was awarded at the 50th anniversary of EKOLFILM festival.

This documentary feature film is part of The Road of No Return investigation by Vanja Stokic, Ajdin Kamber and Goran Gazdek about how dozens of migrants from Asia and Africa drown every year in the rivers between Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

• – Special Recognition for Contribution to Journalism 2024, Club of Journalists Banja Luka
• – Best Documentary Feature Film 2024, Instanbul International Spring Film Festival
• – Best Documentary Film, 2024, Athvikvaruni International Film Festival
• – Best Documentary Feature Film 2024, Kodaikanal International Film Festival
• – Best Documentary Feature Film 2024, Bharatha Desam International Film Festival
• – Best Documentary Feature film 2024, Silent Art Film Festival Thailand
• – Special Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature Film 2024, Tekka International Film Festival
• – Preliminary shortlisted for the European Press Prize 2024
• – 3rd place EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• – Won Community Contribution Srdjan Aleksic Award 2024

Alena Beširević, Harun Dinarević, Ingrid Gercama, Marjolein Koster and Jeanne Frank received the Bosnian award for Best reporting on corruption by CRMA in July 2024 for their investigation in which they mapped illegal deforestation and who profits from it.

Stephane Horel, coordinator and one of the initiators of the Forever Pollution investigation, received for this project the 2024 ASJPI Best Science Journalist Prize from The French Association of Science Journalists.

For her article Ultrasounds of Death,with the findings from the Russian Navy Killing Dolphins in the Black Sea cross-border investigation, Mariana Verbovska received the Honour of Profession awardOpens in a new tab from the Ukrainian National Media Association, in the category Best Analytical Report in the local media.

The investigation by Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos looked at funds which invested in fossil fuel companies such as Eni, Enel, Repsol, Chevron, TotalEnergies, BP and Shell, but were still falsely claimed to be sustainable. It was praised by the jury of Covering Climate Now award for commendable work covering new fossil fuel development, greenwashing, government lobbying, and dubious schemes to offset emissions, and disinformation. Read more about this investigation here.

This award is one of the SOPA Awards 2024.

The four-part series was written by journalist Ana P. Santos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad, and Rappler digital forensics specialist Pauline Macaraeg. The series is a data-driven, cross-border investigation exposing how erring diplomats have been able to exploit their migrant domestic workers and have gotten away with it for decades due to a privilege called diplomatic immunity. Read more about the investigation here.

The team of journalists received an honourable mention at the Trace Prize for Investigative Reporting for their piece "Hawala: The Bankers of Irregular Migration" which explored and exposed the network of small businesses that sustained the world of migrants, but also endangered them.

Read more about the investigation here.

It received the third prize In the "History" category and was shortlisted in the category "Human Stories" at the Belgian Podcast Awards.

Find out more about the project here.

Nemanja Rujević, Ingrid Gercama, Nathalie Bertrams and Tristen Taylor revealed how the wild birds are still entering the EU despite the ban that was introduced in 2015 - and that the price for those birds is so high the revenues would be more profitable than those from drug trade, and this investigation was highlighted by the True Story Awards mention.

Read more about the investigation here.

The competition was organised by the Council of Media Ethics in Macedonia and supported by UNESCO and the Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia. The Fragile Forests was filmed and produced by Aleksandar Metodijev and Suzana Miceva.

Bhrikuti Rai and Fabian Federl visit Odemira, where the raspberries are grown, to find out what life is like for the workers here and whether their dream of earning an EU passport is worth the toil. Read the investigation here.

This investigation was carried out by Sara Manisera, Daniela Sala and Ollie Ballinger.

— As reporters, and as FADA Collective, we strongly believe that generically talking about the climate crisis is not enough: we must investigate the responsibilities and hold both State and private actors accountable. This is a particularly urgent in countries like Iraq. Oil and gas multinationals continue to operate to maximise their profits, an ecological disaster is looming over the country, and it is the local communities who pay the price of an irreversible environmental degradation. This investigation required time and a lot of efforts and it would not have been possible without the support of the Journalismfund Europe. — Sara and Daniela said after receiving the prize.

Read more about this investigation here.

Iraq is among the countries in the world most exposed to the effects of the climate crisis. While the effects of rising temperatures and erratic rainfall is certainly relevant and relatively talked about, the role of the oil industry is too often concealed. For her work on this project, Daniela Sala received the Kolga Tbilisi Photo award in the Reportage category.

Read more about this investigation here.

Shell knows the ways to the highest circles as well as the shortcuts through the political swamps. The oil and gas giant operates in 70 countries. Most are not democratic constitutional states. Shell - until recently Royal Dutch Shell - has to deal daily with weak or autocratic governments, corruption, unrest, war and terrorism. How does it navigate through these? Read here about the 'High Stakes' investigation.

In Belgium and the Netherlands, Mexican laborers have raised a new branch of the drug industry: crystal meth. Arthur Debruyne portrays all those involved. 'Buying gloves? Just tell those mexi to work'. Read more about The Mexican Method investigation here.

The investigation which received the One World Media award in the Best Podcast&Radio category was carried out by Bhrikuti Rai and Fabian Federl. They revealed what life is like for the workers inOdemira, Portugal where raspberries are grown. Is their dream of earning an EU passport worth the toil?

The 2nd award in the Storytelling category at the World Water Day Photo Contest organised by UNESCO went to this investigation by Daniela Sala, Sara Manisera and Ollie Ballinger. This cross-border team looked into the environmental and health consequences for Iraq that are the result of the oil industry putting a strain on the country’s already scarce water resources.

This investigation looked into the exploitation of migrant fishing workers in Ireland and received the annual prize for social affairs journalism produced on the island of Ireland.

Diplomatic Immunity and Impunity examined how diplomats exploit their foreign domestic workers and escape prosecution because of diplomatic immunity, while Ground Control investigated land ownership in European capitals.

At Ensors 2024, the Flemish film and audiovisual awards ceremony held in Ostend, Pieter Van Eecke received an award for the Best Documentary film.

Find more information about the investigation here.

“The TuNur Solar Exportation Project: An Unjust Green Energy Project” by Aida Delpuech and Arianna Poletti. Read the original here or the translation into English here

“How Exotic Birds are Trafficked from Guinea into the EU via Serbia” by Nemanja Rujević, Nathalie Bertrams, Dr. Tristen Taylor and Ingrid Gercama. Read the awarded article in Serbian here and more about the investigation here (including links in other languages).

“How to build a life in a state in decline?” by Ula Idzikowska and Marek Kowalczyk. Read the story in Polish here and more about the project here.

The award is given by the municipality of Koekelare, Belgium. This investigative project on why the wild animals returning to Belgium and what does that say about thel environment was carried out by Paul Cobbaert.

– The Belfius Press Prizes 2023, nominated

– De Oorkondes 2023, nominated

– KVAB Jaarprijs voor wetenschapscommunicatie, won

This investigation was carried out by Tinne Claes and Wederik De Backer. You can read more about it here.

The ‘Tina Merlin’ national awards for Investigative Journalism

The Fetisov Journalism Awards 2023, in the Outstanding Investigative Reporting category
Stefania Prandi, Francesca Piculli, Charlotte Aagaard and Kusum Arora revealed how farm workers trafficked from Punjab in India to work in the kiwi fields of Lazio. Read more about the project and see the stories here

Raluca Besliu, Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi and Kevin Woke uncovered the harmful impact of Total's illegal oil and gas exploration activities in Nigeria.

Read the investigation here.

Claudia Colliva, Giada Santana and Juli Simond delved into the role of organised crime and the labour exploitation in the agricultural market.

Read the investigation here.

This award was judged by Dan Saladino, a BBC journalist, and kindly sponsored by Drummond House Garlic. This competition is to reward and share excellence in writing and content production on Irish food. It is open to writers, journalists, chefs, bloggers, broadcasters, photographers and those who promote Irish food on social media.

Find more information about the investigation here.

This award of the Society of Environmental journalists in the 'Large market' category went to Tim Luimes, Stéphane Horel, Tomas Vanheste, Sarah Pilz and Gianluca Liva who exposed over 17,000 PFAS-contaminated sites across Europe, with an additional 22,000 potential contamination sites caused by past or ongoing industrial activities, highlighting environmental concerns. Read the story here.

The Bankers of Irregular Migration is an investigation by Elena Ledda, Andrea Giambartolomei, Priyanka Shankar, Emma Yeomans, Andrés Mourenza and Iliana Papangeli. Read the story here.

The Forever Pollution Project, an investigation by Tim Luimes, Stéphane Horel, Thomas Vanheste, Sarah Pilz and Gianluca Liva. Read the story here.

Nigeria: Illegal crude oil mining, an investigation by Elfredah Kevin-Arelechi, Kevin Woke and Raluca Besliu. Read the story here.

The environmental and social impacts of Europe and Japan's waste to energy push in Southeast Asia, an investigation by Nithin Coca, Alexandra Buba, Geela Garcia and Nicha Wachpanich. Read the story here.

The Dark Trace In the Water of the Cheap Meat Big Business, an investigation by Ana Tudela and Antonio Delgado, won in the Data Category. Read more about the investigation here.

The Sinking Cities Project, an investigation by Rehab Abdalmohsen, Ope Adetayo, Shamsuddin Illius, Lois Kapila, Zuza Nazaruk and Zuha Siddiqui won in the Emerging Talent Category. Read more about this story here.

Journalists Michael Billig, Marius Münstermann and Zuzana Šotová revealed how a German company sent a potentially harmful product to a Czech waste site.

Read more about this project here.

Journalists Mary Mwendwa and Christian Locka established that Chemical Pesticides produced in the USA and Germany, banned within the European Union markets, are still used in Kenya and Cameroon.

Read the story here.

Journalists Ana Tudela and Antonio Delgado were part of a team who showed how areas of extremely high concentration of intensive macro-farms in Europe have polluted rivers, aquifers and even drinking water.

Read more here.

Journalists Dicta Asiimwe and Pablo Garrigós Cucarella investigated how the work of Ugandan scientists in the frontline of zoonotic disease surveillance, in the context of weak and under-supported healthcare systems in Africa, and how this could jeopardise the goal of protecting the global population from the next pandemic. Pablo Garrigós Cucarella won on the category of photojournalists in the world.

Read more about this investigation here.

Journalists Nemanja Rujević, Ingrid Gercama, Nathalie Bertrams and Tristen Taylor investigated how the smuggling of songbirds and other tropical birds to the European Union (EU) has skyrocketed in recent years, especially along the Balkans trafficking route.

Read more about this investigation here.

Journalists Daniela Sala (Italy), Ankita Anand (India) and Marco Valle (Italy) investigated how, through debt, a network of intermediairies linking India to the Pontine countryside keeps thousands of Indian workers under blackmail, exploited in one of the largest fruit and vegetable districts in Europe.

Read more about this investigation here.

Hands On Deck: Exploitation of Migrant Fishing Workers In Ireland is an investigation by Maria Delaney, Geela Garcia and Louise Lawless. Read more about this investigation here.

Peat pressure: industrial peat extraction in enforcement firing line, an investigation by Niall Sargent and Juris Jurans. Read more here.

Hidden cross-border pollution in Ireland and the United Kingdom, an investigation by Luke Butterly, Niall Sargent, Rory Winters, Ella McSweeney and Tommy Greene. Read more here.

Tobias Asmuth investigated the consequences of the Alqueva Dam for the south of Portugal, read his investigation here. Ricardo Rodrigues' investigation follows the work of a team of researchers which is, in fact, the urgent fight of Science to stop the species and biodiversity decline, read the story here.

Olga Loginova and Ottavia Spaggiari investigated how the regime responded to the protest by unleashing an unprecedented level of violence.

Read the story here.

Maria Delaney, Geela Garcia, and Louise Lawless investigated how exploited Asian migrant workers in the Irish fishing sector are being failed and ignored. Read more here.

Naipanoi Lepapa (Kenya) uncovered a multitude of worrying allegations about the unregulated surrogacy industry in Kenya. Read the story here.

Olga Loginova and Ottavia Spaggiari investigated how the regime responded to the protest by unleashing an unprecedented level of violence. Read the story here.

Ingrid Gercama, Nemanja Rujević and Natalie Bertrams investigated that de EU's craze for lithium brings about a loss of biodiversity and pollution in Serbia. Read the story here.

Journalists Daniela Sala (Italy), Ankita Anand (India) and Marco Valle (Italy) investigated how, through debt, a network of intermediairies linking India to the Pontine countryside keeps thousands of Indian workers under blackmail, exploited in one of the largest fruit and vegetable districts in Europe. Read the story here.

Journalists Niall Sargent, Rory Winters, Luke Butterly & Tommy Greene, and Ella McSweeney investigated the environmental impacts of the poultry industry in Ireland and the United Kingdom as it expands in line with State policy. Read more here.

Journalists Ruben Brugnera and Marieke Brugnera have won 'De Loep', the most prestigious award for investigative journalism in The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium).

Read more here.

Every year, Kenyans.co.ke releases the highly anticipated list of Top 100 Kenyans who stood out and disrupted the status quo countrywide, during the period under review - between January and December. Naipanoi's investigation uncovered a multitude of disturbing allegations about the unregulated surrogacy industry in Kenya.

Read more here.

The podcast Ouder/Elder by Lander Kennis and Rafael Njotea is on the shortlist for the prestigous Rose d'Or. Read the story here.

Tom Naegels won the 'Prijs voor het Belangrijkste Boek van het Jaar' (Award for the Most Important Book of the Year).

Read the story here.

Bence Máté, Florian Schewe and Áron Szentpéteri are finalists for the #DIGAwards with The Hungarian Playbook in the category Investigative Long.

Read more about this investigation here.

Naipanoi Lepapa was among the journalists awarded during the 2022 Annual Journalism Excellence Awards (AJEA) held in Nairobi on Friday, May 6. At the awards organised by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Naipanoi was crowned the Journalist of the Year in recognition of her investigative articles at the outlet. Journalist of the Year award, which is the highest award recognition, went to Naipanoi Lepapa of The Elephant for a story on the surrogacy industry in Kenya.

Read more about this investigation here.

A project supported by Journalismfund Europe has been longlisted by the VVOJ for the Loep 2021. This list contains – per category – the 10 best research stories from Belgium and the Netherlands. The investigation, supported by the Pascal Decroos Fund, is about the Belgian homeless organization Poverello, who has a poor image, but has 14 million in the bank and owns real estate worth 50 million euros.

Read more about this investigation here.

Amnesty International Luxembourg has awarded its Amnesty Mediepräis 2022 in the category "article" to Luc Caregari, who together with Namrata Sharma carried out an investigation revealing shortcomings in the fight against forced labor in Luxembourg. Through the testimony of a victim in the restaurant industry, the report reveals the wall of silence that daily life hides in a situation where the victim and the culprit are part of the same community.

Jury member Petz Bartz explained the decision: “Luc Caregari's investigation was carried out in collaboration with Namrata Sharma in Nepal. It is a remarkable piece of international and cross-border journalism that even the pandemic has not been able to silence".

For this investigation published in 2020, Napanoi Lepapa was shortlisted for the Fetisov Journalism Awards in the category of Outstanding Investigative Reporting.

This film has won the award for best documentary at the Antalya Altın Portakal Film Festivali, and the film has also been selected for the European Film Awards 2021. Read about the film

Swedish Journalist Carolina Jemsby was shortlisted for the 'Golden Shovel' (Guldspaden) award for this story. Guldspaden is an annual Swedish prestigious award in investigative journalism. It is awarded by the Swedish Association of Investigative Journalism (Föreningen Grävande Journalister). Read the story here.

This investigation was finalist in two categories of the Online Journalism Awards 2021: the ‘Knight Award for Public Service’ and ‘Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships'.

Read more about the investigation here.

De Nederlandse Fotoboekenprijs (Dutch award): award for best text/photobook.

Read more about the investigation here.

Belfius Persprijzen: award for Best Podcast/Radio, most important journalistic award in Belgium. Read the story here.

Ensors 2021: award for Best Documentary Film, most important film award in Flanders, Belgium. Read the story here.

Ensors 2021: award for Best Documentary TV, most important award in Flanders, Belgium. Read the story

Factcheck.Vlaanderen is an online platform that uses artificial intelligence to detect disinformation and polarisation so that fact-checkers can verify and combat it. It was developed with an innovation grant from Journalismfund's Flemish Journalism Fund.

Professor Michaël Opgenhaffen was awarded the Annual Prize for Science Communication from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts for the co-creation and co-management of Factcheck.Vlaanderen.

Nominated for the Prix Europa, Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Read the story here.

Nominated for De Tegel, the most important award for journalism in The Netherlands. Read the story here.

Longlisted for the Brusseprijs 2020 (award for the best journalistic book in Dutch). Read the story here.

Shortlisted for the Brusseprijs 2020. (award for the best journalistic book in Dutch). Read the story here.

Longlisted for the One World Media Awards. Read the story here.

Won 'De Loep' (most prestigious award for investigative journalism in Flanders and The Netherlands, discerned by the Dutch-Flemish Association of Investigative Journalists VVOJ). Read the story here.

Won the Title of 'Meesterverteller' (Master Storyteller) of the Dutch Narrative Journalism Foundation. Read the story here.

Won the Title of 'Meesterverteller' (Master Storyteller) of the Dutch Narrative Journalism Foundation.

Read the story here.

Won the King of Spain International Journalism Award in the category environmental and sustainable development journalism.

Read the story here.

2019 - Won the Ensors (Flemish film awards) for the best documentary film - 14/09/2019

Read the story here.

2019 - Nominated for the Ensors (Flemish film awards) - best documentary television

Read the story here.

2019 - Nominated for many festivals: Sheffield, Chicago, Ghent, Hot Springs, Rotteredam, Kosovo, Athens, DOCNYC, ...

Read the story here.

2019 - Investigate Europe won the Hans-Matthöfer-Preis" for their publication on BlackRock's investment.

2019 - Nominated for Belfius-persprijs in the category television press. - 08/05/2019

Read the story here.

2019 - Won the Prix Meilleur Documentaire international at the RIDM Montréal International Documentary Festival.

Read the story here.

• 2019 - Shortlisted for the New Media Writing Prize (NMWP) in the journalism category.
• 2019 - Nominated for The Prix Europa on the “Tv Current Affair” category.
• 2019 - Awarded the Prémio Gazeta Multimedia. The most important journalism prize in Portugal.
• Read the story here.

2019 - Nominated in De Loep's 'Signalerend' category - VVOJ - 22/03/2019

Read the story here.

2019 - Won the best short documentary at the Beloit International Film Festival, US.

Read the story here.

2019 - Nominated for FEPASCO (Burkina Faso): Compétition documentaire long-métrage

Read the story here.

Aanmoedigingsprijs van ‘De Loep’- VVOJ (Nominated)

Read the story here.

Hostwriter (Won 2nd Story Prize)

Read the story here.

The European Press PrizeOpens in a new tab (Nominated)

Read the story here.

Surveillance Studies PreisOpens in a new tab (Awarded)

Read the story here.

British Journalism AwardsOpens in a new tab (Nominated)

Read the full story here.

Vereniging Online Journalisten Nederland Opens in a new tab(VOJN) (Nominated)

Read the full story here.

Prix Philippe Chaffanjon (WON)

Read the story here.

Won Best Short Documentary - IDFA (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Read the story here.

Won Social Art Award (Berlin).

Read the story here.

CNN African Journalist Awards, category Sport ReportingOpens in a new tab (Won)

Read the story here.

This investigation became the winner of Expopharm PrizeOpens in a new tab and was nominated for the German ReporterpreisOpens in a new tab.

Read more about the investigation here.

European Science Writer of the YearOpens in a new tab (WON, by Michele Catanzaro)

Read more about the investigation here.

• AMI Journalism against Indifference PrizeOpens in a new tab
• High Commission for Migration's Communication AwardOpens in a new tab
• Read more about the investigation here.

Investigative Reporting Award of the 2016 European Press Prize (Shortlisted)

Read more about the investigation here.

2015 - Prix Louise Weiss for European Journalism (WON)

Read the story here.

• 2014 - European Press Prize, Innovation AwardOpens in a new tab (WON)
• 2014 - Global Editors Network Data Journalism AwardsOpens in a new tab (WON)
• 2014 - Gold Medal at 'Premios ÑH'
• Read the story here.

2014 - European Press Prize, Innovation AwardOpens in a new tab (Shortlisted)

Read the story here.

2014 - Prix Louise WeissOpens in a new tab (WON)

Read the story here.

2014 - Reporting Europe PrizeOpens in a new tab (Highly commended)

Read the full story here.

This investigation was shortlisted for the Data Journalism Award 2013

Read more about this investigation here.

2012 - European Press PrizeOpens in a new tab (Shortlisted)

Read the story here.

2012 - CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative JournalismOpens in a new tab (WON)

Special investigative journalism diplomaOpens in a new tab

Read the story here.

This book by Aleksandra Jolkina led to Jolkina's nomination as "Latvia’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report hero" by the United States Embassy to Latvia.

Read the story here.