Sunday Times 2
UN journalism: Gold for Thalif
View(s):Thalif Deen, UN Bureau Chief for Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency and a former columnist for the Sunday Times, received one of the highest honours for excellence in UN reporting at the annual awards ceremony hosted by the UN Correspondents’ Association (UNCA) in New York last week.
Deen shared a joint gold medal with Louis Charbonneau of Reuters for coverage of the humanitarian and development work of the
Thalif Deen with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
United Nations. The award was sponsored by the New York-based UN Foundation. The winners were picked from over 130 entries from journalists worldwide. Last year, Deen was part of an IPS team that won the gold for reporting on the global environment.
A former senior editorial writer on the Hongkong Standard and Military Editor, Middle East/Africa, at Jane’s Information Group, he is a former UN correspondent for Asiaweek, Hongkong and Jane’s Defence Weekly London, and a Fulbright scholar with a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia University, New York.
The award ceremony was followed by a black-tie dinner at the glitzy Cipriani Restaurant and attended by over 600 guests, including UN ambassadors, senior UN officials, journalists, New York city’s glitterati and A-list celebrities in show business.
The Correspondents’ Association also gave two special awards: one to Hollywood movie icon Michael Douglas– the Global Citizen of the Year award– for his commitment to nuclear disarmament, and to singer, musician and song writer Stevie Wonder– the Global Advocate of the Year Award– for his commitment to humanitarian causes.