The editorial staff of RISU has established a prize of Blessed Karol Wojtyla to award Ukrainian journalists for the best material or series of materials on various aspects of religious life in Ukraine and the world. The prize is to be annual and nondenominational.
Persons who can be nominated may include journalists, publicists working in various genres of journalism (news, reportages, journalist investigation, analysis) and types of media (press, radio, TV, internet) and bloggers.
Nominees can be recommended by: editorial staff, independent experts, and religious and public organizations, as well as individuals or group of individuals and jury members.
To name the winner an independent jury will be set up, which will take into account the results of questioning on the RISU portal. Religious views of nominees cannot influence the decision of the jury.
Main criterion of selection: The materials are to present deeper understanding of religious life. Undoubtedly, only the materials complying with the conventional standards of journalism (objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness, observance of the right of authorship, etc.) will be considered.
“The prize is named after Blessed Pope John Paul II because the pope, as no one before, worked to bring our church closer to the mass media. He issued dozens of documents regarding evangelization in the mass media. He was one of the first church leaders to talk about the Internet. He was the first pope to record a CD. The initiation of such a prize is symbolic for RISU, a portal that was established over ten years ago, when information about the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine was published in order to provide information about the religious life in Ukraine to the world,” said the director of RISU, Taras Antoshevskyi.
The first winner of the prize will be announced on June 27, 2011, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the pope’s visit to Ukraine.