Humanitarian Communication Thesis Prize 2021

After an absence of one year, it is the third time that the Expertise Centre Humanitarian Communication (HuCom) awards this prize for the best master's thesis on humanitarian communication and the representation of international development. The hybrid event, which can be followed both on location and online, will be held from 16:00-18:00hrs in CREA’s Muziekzaal and includes the screening of the short film Without Shoes, You Won't Survive (2021) and presentations by the nominees.

With the Humanitarian Thesis Prize, the Expertise Centre Humanitarian Communication aims to annually highlight, stimulate, and recognize research in the specialized field of humanitarian communication. For this third edition, the centre received a record-number of theses that were submitted to a Dutch or Belgian in the past year and graded with a 7.5 or higher. After assessing the many entries, the jury – consisting of Gabriel Ramirez Acevedo (HuCom board member, Development Studies, UvA), Judith van der Kamp (Julius Center for Global Health, UMC Utrecht), Esther Philippen (University Centre for Development Cooperation, Brussels), and Dani Haudenschild  (PhD in Development and Postcolonial Studies, University Kassel, winner of the previous HuCom Thesis Prize) – arrived to the following nine nominees:

1. Alejandra Nino Aguirre (New Media and Digital Culture, Utrecht University)
2. Katie Banks (International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam)
3. Femke van Heun (International Development Studies, Utrecht University)
4. Josh McDonald (New Media and Digital Culture, University of Amsterdam)
5. Elaine O'Donnell (Gender Studies, Utrecht University)
6. Manon Peek (International Development Studies, Wageningen University)
7. Isabelle Persson (International Development Studies, Utrecht University)
8. Marrit Woudwijk (Conflict Studies, Utrecht University)
9. Katerina Zejdlova (Latin American Studies, University of Amsterdam)

During the Humanitarian Communication Thesis Prize 2021, the nominated students will present their thesis in Pecha Kucha style (i.e., twenty slides to be shown for twenty seconds each). In addition to the honor, the winner will receive a cash prize of 250 euro. The best presentation will also be rewarded by the jury.

The ceremony event in CREA’s Muziekzaal (Music Hall) will start with a short welcome by host Audilla Vaughn aka Femmetastic and a screening of the short documentary Without Shoes, You Won't Survive (2021, 15’) by director Christine Pawlata, who will also introduce and discuss the film with the audience.  After the screening, it is time for the nominated students to present their research and for the jury to announce the winner. After the ceremony there will be drinks and bites from 18:00-19:00 hrs in the adjoining CREA Café. The Humanitarian Communication Thesis Prize 2021, which is supported by ASCA, is free of charge and open for all to attend. Since we are facing capacity restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we do request you to register in advance via info@humanitairecommunicatie.nl if you want to join on location. To attend the event online (Zoom), please follow https://bit.ly/hucom-thesis-prize.

Note to editors: For more information, interviews and/or visual material, please contact the Expertise Centre Humanitarian Communication (HuCom) via info@humanitairecommunicatie.nl.