The Jeepney Magazine won the Best Interview award during an international conference of street papers in Norway for the interview with Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga.
“Deemed ‘unusual’ and ‘exceptional’ by the judging panel, this year’s winning interview opens up a multi-dimensional dialogue on the complex dynamics of poverty and power in the ‘developing world’. Channelling the reflections of the leader and inspiration behind the biggest nation-building volunteer movement in the Philippines today, it illuminates both the promise and the limitations of the global quest for human dignity,” Miren Gutiérrez, Editor-in-Chief of Inter Press Service, said as he presented the award to Jeepney.
“I consider it a victory for the Philippines and an empowerment of the poor that the Best Interview was presented to The Jeepney. We do have a change maker in Tony Meloto. In desperate situations, some people will rise up and Tony is one,” said Jeepney Magazine’s Executive Director William Shaw.
Tony Meloto is the executive director of the Gawad Kalinga Community Foundation (GK), the biggest nation-building volunteering movement in the country. GK has served over 900 communities all over the country during the past 12 years.
“My calling is to engage everyone, the movers and the shakers, in this greater calling to help the poor. I want to be on the ground with my people, to be able to feel their pain, to ease their pain,” Tony Meloto said for the winning interview, published on the second issue of the magazine.
The Jeepney Magazine’s feature on Tony Meloto was one of the five finalists competing for the Best Interview Award. It won against interviews with the Crown Prince of Norway, war photographer Zoriah Miller, Afghan politician Malalai Joya and journalist Heinz Nussbaumer.
Aside from the Best Interview, the Jeepney Magazine was one of the finalists for Best Design for the third issue’s cover page with the title “Homeless in a Material World”.
The award was given during the International Network of Street Papers Annual Conference held May 13 to 16, 2009 in Bergen, Norway. The International Network of Street Papers (INSP) is a global network that aims to address issues of poverty and homelessness by connecting 101 street papers from 37 countries worldwide to create employment for homeless people.
Filed under: Updates on the Foundation
I’m a student at Georgetown University, and I have volunteered with Gawad Kalinga on numerous occasions. I can attest to the words of the judging panel that GK and Tony Meloto do indeed manifest an extraordinary type of exceptionalism. Gutierrez recognizes what so many other Filipinos feel in GK, namely, that they have found a reason to be proud and “victorious” in this particular movement that has harnessed the best of the Filipino people and translated the unique cultural qualities of the country into a concrete nationwide template for development. Best wishes to Jeepney magazine for their stellar work!