Created in 2019 by the European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht following the New York Times announcement that they would stop publishing press cartoons, the European Cartoon Award is designed to reward “courage and quality in the field of cartooning and foster conversation on the topic of Europe”. These are two objectives that are at the heart of Voxeurop’s mission.
This year, once again, I had the honour of being a member and the chair of the jury, and leading the debates. Selection is one of the most exciting tasks, but also one of the most arduous, especially when the 2024 harvest was so rich, varied, and surprising. We all had to fight hard to defend our favourites… and reach agreement on the finalists. Throughout the summer, behind closed doors, we met with Ben Jennings, winner of the 2023 ECA; Iranian cartoonist Sanaz Bagheri; Dutch cartoonist Jip van den Toorn; and Dutch philosopher Stine Jensen. These selection sessions were an opportunity to discuss the major events of the past year and their unique journalistic treatment through the eyes of press cartoonists.
Of the 475 press cartoons from 24 countries that I evaluated with my four co-judges, three were shortlisted: Tjeerd Royaards (Netherlands), Steven Lectrr Degryse (Belgium) and Victor Solís (Mexico), who we present here.
Click on an image to launch the slideshow:
The winner will be announced at the second ECA Cartoons Day in The Hague on Thursday 17 October. The awards ceremony will take place in the Central Library, and all you have to do to attend is register. The ceremony will be preceded by two discussions: on the phenomenon of polarisation, and how press cartoons are chosen by editors-in-chief. These discussions will be moderated by yours truly and Gian-Paolo Accardo respectively. See you there!
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