Prize of Human Rights Martine Anstett - 2017 Prize
Martine Anstett Prize was awarded to Burundian photographer TEDDY MAZINA.
The prize was awarded on March 10, 2017 during the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva.
"My career path as an activist began in the early 1990s. I was then a law student at the National University of Burundi. I founded an association called "Organisation Jeunesse Futur" with some fellow students. Its aim was to denounce all kinds of extremism and manipulations and to promote non-violence. Year 1993 was the year of the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye. The country was near war and division. In 1995, I took advantage of a trip to Germany to ask for political asylum in Belgium. During these iron years, some 300,000 of my compatriots died. Twelve years later, in 2007, I returned to my country. I was determined to face the new situation and to make something new, but I realized that we were having the same problems as before. Therefore, I decided to learn photography and train in the new communication techniques to contribute in a different way to the social and political life of Burundi.
The 2010 presidential elections were to be soon when I decided to cover the pre-election period, campaign and elections. The photos of the campaign became a television program, PIGA-PITCHA. From then on, photography has become part of the press life in Burundi as a tool of information in its own right, a means of proof and collective memory of the people. Disseminated through the new media, it is like a mirror which reflects the hopes, joys and sorrows of the people, as well as it denounces the violations of human rights, arrests and imprisonments.
My work as a photographer will not stop. I started without even having a camera of my own. Yet now, I have to respond to the demand for images that people are eager to see, and to that of the organizations that fight for the human rights.
From now on, I am an "activist of the memory" of my contemporaries. I continue to struggle for rights like in the 1990s, and I also consider myself an artist. I want to show the history of people and highlight the aesthetic - sometimes surrealist - dimension of these humane movements. My Facebook and Tweeter accounts have become places where people can see what happens in Burundi daily; they can also call for help or report on the various violations of the human rights. I collect, check and disseminate information."
The jury composed of Delphine Matsumoto (P.M.A.), Alexandra Poméon (F.I.D.H.), JM Surcin (France 2), Thierry Bouvard (TV5Monde), met on January 12 to deliberate and designate the laureates to Martine Anstett 2nd Prize.
Geneviève Garrigos (Amnesty International) was not well and voted by mail.
The applications selected and examined by the jury were those of:
TEDDY MAZINE (Burundi), photographer, journalist and human rights activist.
AIDA SEIF AL-DAWLA (Egypte), activist at El Nadeem Center in Cairo. They have been assisting victims of state violence since 1993.
NASSERA DUTOUR (Algérie), spokesperson of the “Collectif des Familles des Disparus en Algérie” (CFDA).
MARIE-FRANCE DES PALLIERES (Cambodge), founder with her husband Christian of “Pour un Sourire d'Enfant” (PSE), an association which welcomes, feeds, nurses and educates thousands of children from extreme poverty.
The name of the prizewinner will be announced in Geneva on March 10 at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in the presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the NGOs and the press.
Thank you all for your support!
In case of problem with the video, here is the YouTube link
This year, you have until 30 November, 2016 to submit an application or to recommend someone.
Exceptionally, Martine Anstett Prize award will take place in Geneva during the International Film Festival of Human Rights on 15 March, 2017. Another ceremony will be held April 29, 2017, day of the disappearance of Martine Anstett.
All details are on the site, "Martine Anstett Prize, Guidelines" item.
We remind you that MARTINE ANSTETT PRIZE is for a man or a woman especially committed to the defense of Human Rights. The honoree, regardless of gender, age, religion or nationality, will receive a trophy and a check for a minimum amount of 1,500 euros. The award will be received by the recipient as a reward for the work already done and also as an encouragement to continue their efforts in favor of Human Rights.