R.AGE team wins big at Asian Media Awards in Singapore

Star Media Group chief content officer Esther Ng (third from right) and members of the R.AGE team were presented three Asian Media Awards in Singapore. From left: R.AGE journalists Lim May Lee, Clarissa Say, Yee, Satpal Kaler, Yasmin Zulhaime, and Shanjeev Reddy.

SINGAPORE: The Star’s R.AGE investigative journalism team continued its remarkable run of international award wins with another three trophies at the Asian Media Awards.

The awards were presented by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (Wan-Ifra) at the Singapore Flyer yesterday, at a gathering of some of the continent’s top news organisations.

“This really is an immense honour, especially coming from a major news association like Wan-Ifra, so we’re very humbled by this,” said R.AGE deputy executive editor and producer Ian Yee.

Remarkably, R.AGE won both the gold and silver awards in the Best Feature Story category for its Refugees No More and Student/Trafficked projects, making it over 30 major awards for the team since 2016.

 

WATCH: The award-winning Refugees No More documentary

 

 

For the Refugees No More multimedia project, the team uncovered the devastating impact of UNHCR’s decision to end refugee protections for the Chin community in Malaysia, which is believed to have led to several suicides.

R.AGE subsequently initiated “The Chin Up Project”, an advocacy campaign aimed at lobbying for a reversal of the policy by recording videos of Chin refugees explaining where they see themselves in 2020, when their refugee protections were scheduled to end.

 

WATCH: What is The Chin Up Project?

 

 

“I have to particularly congratulate the R.AGE journalists who worked on this project, because I believe they played a big role in UNHCR ultimately reversing its decision, and deciding to continue protections for these refugees who have already become important parts of our communities,” said Yee.

The awards come a month after R.AGE made history by earning a second straight Peabody Award nomination, having been selected from a field of over 1,200 submissions from around the world, including from major companies like CNN, HBO, Netflix, BBC, and more.

To support R.AGE’s investigative journalism and social advocacy work, go to fb.com/thestarRAGE.