GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has announced the four winners of its 2023 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration. The results were published to mark this year’s International Migrants Day (18 December).

The Competition aims to promote quality reporting on labour migration issues, including forced labour, because balanced and ethical reporting play an important role in addressing stereotypes and misconception, as well as highlighting the positive contribution migrant workers make in their origin and destination countries.

More than 400 entries from 85 countries were received and reviewed by an independent panel of five judges, using criteria including creativity, accuracy and balance, protection of migrants and positive portrayal of labour migration. The winning entries were selected from a shortlist of finalists, which the judges praised for the quality of the reporting. Prizes were awarded in two categories:

Professional category:

• Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam's Nghe An province, by Sen Nguyen, published in Al Jazeera (20 July 2023)
• Harvesting Heat, by Sofía Álvarez Jurado, Claudia Colliva and Giada Cristal Santana Eusebio, published in Are We Europe (31 July 2023)
• Too Hot To Work, by Tom Laffay, Jacob Templin, Justine Simons, Karif Wat, Ed Kashi, Aryn Baker, Elijah Wolfson and Diane Tsai, published in Context and TIME (15 November 2022)

Student category:

• Vulnerability of Indonesian Fishing Boat Crew to Exploitation, Violence, and Discrimination as an Effect of Dualism in Licensing [unpublished], by Annisa Zulfalia Az Zahra and Almira Khairunnisa Suhendra

“Every year the Competition receives ever more high-quality entries. These highlight the positive contributions of migrant workers to our societies but also the challenges faced by them, as we know that migrant workers are three times more at risk of falling into forced labour. This year's entries particularly highlight the importance of a safe and healthy working environment, which is now considered by the ILO a fundamental principle and right at work"

Katerine Landuyt, Officer in Charge of the ILO’s Labour Migration Branch

The stories highlight the importance of good governance of labour migration and protection of migrant workers’ rights - including in relation to recruitment fees and costs - in line with International Labour Standards as well as with the ILO’s General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs. These principles reiterate, among other points, that workers should not be charged fees or related costs for their recruitment, and call for fair and effective labour migration frameworks, institutions and services to protect migrant workers.

The Competition contributes to some of the targets of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees, which include improving working conditions for migrant workers and positively influencing public narratives on migration.

The Competition is organized in partnership with the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Organisation of Employers, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Federation of Journalists, Equal Times, Solidarity Centre, and Migrant Forum in Asia. The Competition is supported by the ‘Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment – Phase III ’ (FAIR III) and the Bridge Project.

Disclaimer
The ILO recognizes the quality of the competition entries submitted. However, the responsibility for opinions expressed and names and terms used in the competition entries rests solely with their authors, and reproduction of the entries does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO of the opinions expressed and names and terms used in them.