Voice of America wins 10 awards at New York Festivals

April 18, 2024

Washington, D.C. — Voice of America programming received top prizes at the prestigious 2024 New York Festivals. New York Festivals’ Radio and TV & Film Awards honor outstanding media content across a variety of platforms. At the April 16 ceremonies, VOA claimed three gold, two silver and five bronze awards. The ten-award haul matches VOA’s record in this annual competition.

Two VOA documentaries earned gold in the Documentary/Human Rights category for TV and film. The first winner, VOA News Center’s “From Fear to Freedom: A Uyghur’s Journey,” follows journalist Kasim Kashgar, a Uyghur from Xinjiang, who sought U.S. asylum in 2023 and speaks about his exile. The second winner, VOA Persian’s “The Endless Start,” documents the persistent journey of women striving for their rights in Iran along a seemingly never-ending road.

In addition, VOA’s “52 Documentary” series won gold in the Documentary/Nonfiction Series category for its human interest documentaries.

In addition to the gold awards, the documentary “Painting Through Pain: Refuge from K-Pop Cyberbullying,” which is part of VOA’s “52 Documentary” series, won silver in the Documentary/Cultural Issues category.

In the radio competition, VOA Persian’s “Senobar, Khodanoor’s Mother” earned silver in the Narrative/Documentary Podcast category and bronze in the Social Justice Podcast category.

In the TV and film competition, VOA programming earned bronze for “Derailing Tren Maya: Can Diver Save Caves From Tren Maya” in the Documentary/Environment & Ecology category; “Afghan Cinema in Exile” in the News Report/Human Interest Feature category; and “A Silent War: Stories of Human Suffering and Resilience in Congo” in the Documentary/Human Rights and Documentary/Human Concerns categories.

“I would like to congratulate all our winners,” said Acting VOA Director John Lippman. “The competition pits our work against journalists from the U.S. and around the world, making these wins a significant achievement.”

Voice of America reaches a weekly global audience of more than 354 million people in 48 languages in nearly 100 countries via radio, television, web and mobile media and a network of more than 3,500 affiliates.

About VOA

Voice of America reaches a global weekly audience of more than 326 million people in 48 languages. VOA programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave, streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.