Following a recommendation from the jury of the 2008 Natali Prize, the European Commission has withdrawn the Natali Grand Prize and the Africa Prize from last year's winner Mr. Larrisse Houssou from Benin. The 2008 runner-up, the Brazilian journalist Raphael Gomide, has been appointed the new winner of the Grand Prize on the recommendation of the jury.

On the basis of a complaint regarding suspected plagiarism received from a journalist in April 2009, the European Commission asked the independent jury for the Natali Prize 2008 to investigate. The jury advised the European Commission to withdraw the prize awarded to Mr. Houssou if no satisfactory explanation was forthcoming. Since Mr. Houssou has failed to provide any explanation of his actions, the European Commission has decided to withdraw the prizes from Mr. Houssou as recommended by the independent jury.

Raphael Gomide (Latin America’s Winner for 2008) is thus awarded the Grand Prize 2008. With the withdrawal of the Africa first prize, Julie Laurenz together with Nicky Troll are the new winners of the Africa Prize.

The competition for the 2009 Natali Prize has already been launched. All the selected entries will be analysed through an anti-plagiarism system to prevent such a reoccurrence.

Lorenzo Natali Prize

The Natali Prize was created in 1992 by the European Union to promote quality journalism in memory of Lorenzo Natali, former vice-president of the European Commission in charge of cooperation for the development between 1985 and 1989.

The Natali Prize for journalism is awarded to journalists for outstanding reporting on the issues of human rights, democracy and development. The 2008 Lorenzo Natali Prize received entries from more than 1500 journalists from more than 150 countries.

The 2008 jury was made up of representatives of TV5 Monde, Le Monde, Courrier International, AFP Foundation, Reporters without Borders, World Association of Newspapers, Amnesty International France, the 2007 Grand Prize winner.

To participate in the 2009 competition, a journalist must have published or aired a work in the written press, on radio or television or internet between January 1 st 2008 and June 15 th 2009 which covered the issues of democracy, human rights and/or development, and the deadline to send in these works is the 30th of June 2009.

The award ceremony will take place during European Development Days 2009, the main Development policy event in Europe which will take place in Stockholm (22-24 October, 2009)