CABEI announces winners of its 2022 regional press contest: Sustainability and Development in Central America

Tegucigalpa, September 30, 2022.- Considering the precision, accuracy and verification of sources, as well as public interest and journalistic independence, the jury of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration's (CABEI) 2022 regional press contest: Sustainability and Development in Central America announced the winners of this year's edition.

In the Radio and/or Television category, the first and second place winners were Costa Rican journalists Rita Valverde Villalobos for her report "Abandonment of bus routes", published On Noticias de Canal 13; and Mariela Montero Salazar for her report "World Day of Indigenous Peoples: Maleku, a language that refuses to die", published On 7 Días Radio, respectively. The honorable mention went to Leonel Espinoza Flores for his report "Tons of garbage from the flooding of the Motagua River contaminate the Gulf of Honduras", published on CGTN (China Global Television) of Honduras.

In the Written and/or Digital Press category, first place went to journalist Víctor Peña for his report "No importa si el agua tiene parásitos, es nuestra agua", published in the El Faro de El Salvador; and second place went to Juan Fernando Lara Salas, for his report "Agricultores ticos se adaptan para cuidar ambiente", published in the La Nación de Costa Rica on June 5th, 2022.

"We congratulate the winners and thank all the participants. The purpose of this contest is to encourage social communicators to develop journalistic work focused on the region's social, economic and environmental issues, and we are pleased to learn of the high level of participation this year, with high-quality work that can undoubtedly influence the economic development and integration of our region," said CABEI Executive President Dante Mossi.

The reports were evaluated in detail by a recognized group of communication professionals: Roberto Herrscher, Argentine journalist specialized in culture, society and environment, and professor of journalism; Milagros Salazar, Peruvian investigative journalist and university professor; and the Ecuadorian journalist, Christian Espinosa, director of Cobertura Digital, with more than 20 years dedicated to training, education, and teaching specialized on online communication.

This year 98 pieces were submitted from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, which were published in the media between January and August 2022.

In addition, an awards ceremony will be held on October 19 at CABEI headquarters in Tegucigalpa, where prizes of U$4,000 will be awarded to first place in each category; U$2,000 to second place and U$1,500 to honorable mention.