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The One Young World Journalist of the Year Award recognises three of the world’s most promising journalists aged 18 to 35. The award highlights the work of young journalists who are creating powerful and meaningful change, providing the essential means to ensure freedom of speech and ensuring human rights are justly upheld in all regions worldwide.
These 3 young journalists have all been selected as winners based on the influential work they have carried out in their countries and communities.
The winners were selected from a shortlist by One Young World’s expert judging.
The Winners
César Dezfuli
Cesar Dezfuli (b. 1991) is a Spanish-Iranian journalist and documentary photographer whose work focuses on migration, human rights and international affairs. In 2016 he began working on his most renowned project named “Passengers”, with which he aims to question the historical visual representation of migration. This project, which has already been exhibited in more than thirty countries and published in numerous international media, follows the story of 118 people rescued from a boat adrift in the Mediterranean, on their migratory route to Europe. Dezfuli, who has been accompanying and documenting their lives for the past eight years, advocates for the individualization of migration narratives and a more empathetic approaches that deconstruct stereotypes.
He is currently working on the production of a documentary film on the project that will be released in the coming years, while focusing on the divulgation on migration matters, with numerous talks and workshops in journalism and human rights forums, such as the European Fundamental Rights Forum of Vienna in 2024, or the Athens iMEdD International Journalism Forum 2023.
Dezfuli is a frequent contributor to Le Monde and De Volkskrant newspapers, while his work has been published in various international media such as The Guardian, TIME Magazine, Al Jazeera or the BBC. He has received several recognitions such as the World Press Photo award (2023), the European Press Prize (2023), the Catchlight Fellowship (2020) or the Pictures of the Year International prize (2018), among others.
His work has been exhibited worldwide individually or as part of collective exhibitions at venues as the National Portrait Gallery (UK); the Museum of Sydney (AU); the European Center for the Arts (DE); the Kyotographie Festival (JP); or the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (USA).
Plestia Alaqad
Awarded One Young World’s Journalist of the Year (2024), 22-year old Plestia Alaqad has been a leading voice during the Israeli Genocide on Gaza. With over 4 million followers tracking her fearless frontline coverage on Instagram, Plestia’s work has been spotlighted by global heavyweights like Al Jazeera, The New York Times, BBC, and The Washington Post.
Graduating as the top student in New Media and Journalism from Eastern Mediterranean University, she’s now advancing her expertise with a Master’s at the American University of Beirut. Beyond journalism, she is also a vocal advocate for Palestine, taking the stage at high-profile forums like the World Government Summit and the One Billion Summit.
Her inspiring work has resonated particularly with the youth, leading many students to undertake school projects centered around her, viewing her as a symbol of inspiration. Plestia delivered her first TEDx Talk, titled “From Struggles to Strength,” virtually at TEDxMase, leaving a lasting impact on the younger generation. She also showcased her poetic talents as the featured poet at the Poetry Grand Slam Bankstown event in Australia.
Looking ahead, Plestia aspires to establish herself as a globally recognized author through her upcoming debut memoir, “Eyes of Gaza”.
Shaneel Lal
Shaneel Lal, of Indian and native Fijian descent, is a queer rights activist based in New Zealand. Lal successfully led the movement to ban gay and gender conversion therapy in New Zealand. Lal authored the bestselling book One of Them sharing their story of surviving conversion therapy in a conservative village in Fiji.
Lal is involved in the movement to protect religious minorities, queer people and women from hate speech that incites violence and is working on changing blood donation policies to allow more gay men to be eligible to safely donate blood. Outside this, Lal has been advocating for an end to commercial greyhound racing.
Lal has written for multiple New Zealand news media platforms including The New Zealand Herald, The Guardian and Stuff NZ with a focus on investigating and providing commentary on issues affecting indigenous peoples, young people and queer people. Lal strongly believes that journalism is necessary for a healthy democracy, and holds power to enact justice.
Lal is a recent graduate of the University of Auckland Law School and is studying for a Master of Laws on treaty jurisprudence and indigenous rights. Lal has an interest in reforming youth justice systems, especially to ensure young people are rehabilitated and supported in society and do not become trapped in a lifetime of offending.
In 2023, Lal became the first openly queer person to win an award from the New Zealander of the Year awards.
https://www.oneyoungworld.com/JOTY-2024-Winners