May Chidiac Foundation awards five media figures in its 7th annual ceremony

BEIRUT: Embraced by the theme of legends, the 7^th annual awards ceremony of May Chidiac Foundation was held on October 12 in the Seaside arena.

The hall was decorated with pictures of legends like Frank Sinatra, Mohammad Abd El Wahab, and Om Kolthom; and it was filled with media figures, politicians, business leaders and many others.

The event was hosted by the two TV personalities Alia toucan and Aiman Kassouny, and it was  attended by the officials: PM Saad Al Hariri, former president Michel Sleiman, MP Sethrida Geagea, ambassador Jean Macaron, minister of Foreign Affairs Jebran Bassil, former minister Salim Al Sayegh, former PM minister Fouad Al Sanioura, and minister of health Ghassan Al Hasbani.

“Today is not merely a social event; it’s a stand on the values of democracy, freedom, justice and human rights,” said Dr.May Chidiac in her opening speech. “In our modern days we are suffering from a lack of these values, and we can see that in the verbal and physical abuse that journalists are facing. More than 79 journalists were killed last year while on duty,”she added.

She also highlighted that four out of the five awardees are women, which shows that women are excelling in the field of journalism. She also went on to discuss the problems faced by the media in Lebanon and mentioned several issues, such as Annahar newspaper’s latest release of blank pages.

However, she ended her speech in a hopeful tone: “Let us all continue our fight so that democracy can thrive in the light. Long live the commitment of journalism, long live the freedom of the press and long live Lebanon!”

Candle centerpieces decorated the fancy tables where guests were treated with a mouth-watering dinner and refreshing drinks. The band “One Night on Broadway” cheered the guests, along with a performance by Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram.

During the course of the evening, an auction was presented by Tom Best, Christie’s auctioneer, who came specially from London. The pieces sold were: “Gitane” by sculptor Alfred Basbous, “Walking Rock” by sculptor Rudy Rahme, “acrylic painting tubes accumulation” by painter Arman, a black cape by designer Zuhair Murad, “Acrylic on canvas” by Vladimir de Leon LLaguno, diamond earrings by “Nsouli,” a diamond necklace by “Zoughaib & Co,” a diamond and pearl necklace by George Hakim, an opulent chair by Ramy Boutros, a painting  by Reza Baharvand, a painting by Ghazi Baker, and a painting by Zeina Assi.

Yet, the highlight of the night was when awardees took the stage to receive their awards in recognition of their professional performance and media coverage.

Five categories of awards were given to the following journalists from European and Arab countries: Raghida Dergham, founder and executive chairman of Beirut institute; Lucia Annunziata, Italian TV journalist; Raja trad, founder of the Publicis Middle East Lebanon; Nima El Bagir, senior international correspondent in Sudan; and  Brankica Stankovic, author of Insajder documentary and editor in chief of insajder.net.

“It always feels lovely to be recognized for our efforts, but being recognized by Dr. May’s foundation is extra special because of what she symbolizes and what she has succeeded to overcome,” El Baghir told Annahar.

On the fourth anniversary of the attempted assassination of Dr. May Chidiac, the two non-profit organizations, the May Chidiac Foundation and its affiliated Media Institute, were launched. MCF is dedicated to training, research, and education on issues of media, democracy, and social welfare. The media institute aims to bridge the gap between academia and the media industry.