People attend the 2023 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road in Beijing on October 19, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of the People's Daily

On the sideline of the 2023 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road which kicked off on Thursday in Beijing, the first Silk Road Global News Awards (SRGNA) Ceremony was hosted. The award is the only international journalism award under the framework of the "Belt and Road" multilateral cooperation mechanism, honoring the recognition, promotion and interpretation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The five categories for the first SRGNA were presented, including the In-depth Reporting Award, Commentary Award, Press Video Award, Short Video Award on the Fight against COVID-19 and Press Photo Award. 

A total of 4,485 entries from 80 countries and regions were collected during the entry phase, and 14 finalists received awards at the ceremony.

Additionally, Mushahid Hussain Syed, head of Pakistan's Friends of Silk Road Club and chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, was given the Special Contribution Award. Having visited China more than 100 times, he has dedicated himself to boosting the friendship between China and Pakistan. He has also played a crucial role in promoting the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and setting up organizations aimed at promoting China-Pakistan friendship.

"Media has to be a collective voice in promoting the facts, the reality, the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Mushahid Hussain Syed. The voices from media of Belt and Road partners will be able to provide the true stories of the cooperation under the BRI.

The photo Glimpses of China by French photographer Yann Layma was nominated for a photography award. Yann Layma stated that he has been documenting China's reform and opening-up, economic prosperity, and large-scale events in photos since 1995, many of which have been published worldwide. 

"I'm very sad about the way the West is criticizing China. They are really wrong," said Yann Layma.

Fatma Esma Arslan Ozdel, a Turkish Anadolu Agency correspondent based in Dakar and nominee for the Press Photo Award, told reporters that she was impressed by China's infrastructure development in Africa. During her participation in the Dakar Fashion Show, she was shocked to see the highways built by China in Africa. She said these infrastructure projects have had a tangible impact on the daily lives of African people, making their lives better.

According to the introduction by Cao Pengcheng, deputy director of the International News Department of the People's Daily, many works contributed to the first SRGNA focused on the changes brought about by "Belt and Road" construction. Many media and reporters have conducted on-site inspections of BRI projects and reported on many of the initiative's projects.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, head of Pakistan's Friends of Silk Road Club and chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, delivers a speech at the 2023 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road in Beijing on October 19, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of the People's Daily