The Bobs 2015 begin
February 19, 2015
Changes are in store for The Bobs - Deutsche Welle's annual award honoring the best in online activism. The competition announced that a new prize, the Freedom of Speech award, will be given out as part of its 11th edition, which started on Thursday. The award is destined for a person or initiative that takes an exemplary stance on human rights and freedom of expression.
“We focused our international competition on core issues for Deutsche Welle - the commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of the press," said DW Director General Peter Limbourg. "By concentrating on three jury categories it enhances the award's long-term impact beyond the global online community."
In addition to the Freedom of Speech Award, other honors from a 14-member, international jury will be awarded in three categories: social change, privacy and security as well as arts and media. Jury members represent each of The Bobs' 14 contest languages.
New to the jury in 2015 are Leila Nachawati für Arabic, Mauricio Santoro (Portuguese), Sanam Dolatshahi (Farsi) and Alexander Morozov (Russian).
Past winners of The Bobs include Cuba's Yoani Sánchez, who was given the award in 2008 – long before her many other international honors. Chinese author and blogger Li Chengpeng, who won in 2013, and Egyptian photoblogger Mosa'ab Elshamy, the winner in 2014, both stand for freedom of expression – and work in countries where such a right is far from guaranteed.
In addition to the main prize and the three awards handed out by The Bobs jury, 14 other prizes will be determined by an online vote – one in each of The Bobs' languages. The competition will wrap up in June with an award ceremony at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany.
For more details about The Bobs competition or to make a submission to the contest, visit www.thebobs.com.