Valentina Trifiletti and Francesca Magnioni, winners of the 2022 EIT Food Journalism Awards in Italy
The EIT Food Journalism Awards in Innovation and Sustainability in the Agrifood sector have celebrated their 3rd edition in Italy, in a ceremony that took place on the 24 of November at the Aula dei Gruppi Parlamentari, in Rome. This year, two female journalists have stand out amongst every other candidate: Valentina Trifiletti, Journalist at Il Fatto Quotidiano who has won the first prize of 1.500€ with her work “Crisi alimentare: la guerra del pane è appena cominciata.”; as per the second prize, Francesca Magnioni, from Agrinet, has been awarded with 700€ for her piece “L’economia circolare e virtuosa della Valle Isarco per la produzione lattiero-casearia”,
The winner piece was awarded due to its capacity to reach a wide audience with a such a relevant topic as it is the rise of the price of the grain due to the war in Ukraine. In words of the jury, “the report is able to open people’s eyes, make them understand why the prize of certain products is rising, teach them how to make smart choices and also understand how the people producing grain have to make them to be sustainable for themselves and the community they live in”.
Regarding Magnioni’s piece, the jury stated that “the piece was easy to understand with a beautiful story on the background that manages to gather the information from institutions, academia and private companies with relevant data. The article is the perfect example of how the EU works, and that’s the main reason of the success of this article, being able to explain in 25 minutes this complex mechanism that tries to empower SMEs to make a positive change in their regions”.
This year’s jury was composed by Sonia Massari, director of the Future Food Institute, Lorena Savani, Innovation director at EIT Food CLC South, Roberto Zalambani, President of UNAGA, Salvatore Gianella, journalist and writer, Antonella Monaco national councillor of UNAGA, Giacomo Cavalli, Relationship Manager Federated Innovation di MIND and last year’s winner and Journalist, Federico Turrisi.
The EIT Food Journalism Awards were created in 2019 in Spain with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the work of media professionals in their effort to disseminate the values associated with the agrifood field; increase consumer trust, create healthier food choices, improve food sustainability, or educate to participate, innovate and move forward. Since then, the awards have grown and are also held in Portugal, apart from Italy, in an effort to promote the transformation of the food ecosystem towards healthier and more sustainable habits and practices.