Eighteen journalists were awarded the Migration Media Award 2025 on Thursday in recognition of their outstanding investigative reporting on migration issues. The awards were presented at a ceremony in Dhaka marking International Migrants Day.
European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Michael Miller attended the event as chief guest. Special guests included Max Tunon, Head of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Bangladesh, and Dr A T M Mahbub-ul Karim, Joint Secretary and Project Director of the RAISE Project under the Wage Earners' Welfare Board.
In the national daily newspaper category, Rajib Ahmed of Daily Samakal won first prize, followed by Russell Ahmed of Kaler Kantho in second place and Kaniz Fatema of The Business Standard and Md Mohiuddin of Prothom Alo jointly received third prize, according to a press release.
In the regional newspaper category, Tarikul Islam Mohammad Hasan of Banglar Potrika secured first place, Mohammad Sharif Iqbal of Daily Grameen Darpan second, and Ayesha Siddika of Daily Subarnagram third.
In the online category, Kamran Siddiqui, Jasim Uddin and Saleh Shafique of The Business Standard won first prize, Raihan Ahmed of JagoNews24 came second, and Md Abdullah of Banglavision third.
In the television news category, Samrat Hossain of Channel 24 won first place, Masuda Khatun of News 24 second, and Sajid Arafat of Ekhon TV third.
The investigative television programme award went to Talash of Independent Television, accepted by Md Nazmul Sayed and Rakibul Hasan. In the radio category, Badsha Mia, Dhaka Bureau Chief of Radio Tehran, received the award.
The winners were presented with crests, certificates and prize money.
BRAC introduced the Migration Media Award in 2015 to recognise journalism focusing on migration. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the award, which is being presented under the Prottasha II Project, jointly funded by the European Union and BRAC.
Speaking at the ceremony, EU Ambassador Michael Miller said journalists play a crucial role in amplifying migrant voices. Stressing the importance of safe migration, he noted that under the Europe Talent Partnership, skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladesh would be recruited legally, while reintegration of returnee migrants must also be prioritised.
BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh announced that BRAC would soon facilitate opportunities for at least two journalists to report directly from countries where Bangladeshi migrants live.
ILO Bangladesh Head Max Tunon highlighted the high cost of migration from Bangladesh and urged urgent action to address the issue. He also encouraged journalists to report from destination countries, particularly in the Middle East, offering ILO support in this regard.
Shahed Muhammad Ali, Editor of Daily Samakal, presented the keynote paper in the discussion while Shariful Hasan, Associate Director (Migration and Youth Platform) at BRAC, delivered the welcome address and outlined the current migration scenario in Bangladesh.
The open discussion session featured remarks from Federico Zapparelli, Deputy Head of Mission of the Italian Embassy in Dhaka; Rahnuma Salam Khan, National Programme Manager of the ILO; gender expert Shipa Hafiza; migration expert Asif Munir; and journalists from various media outlets.
