Revealing the 2022 Young Journalist Award finalists

It has been a tough three weeks for the panel of judges at the UK Foreign Press Association (FPA) who had the unenviable task of selecting three finalists for the 2022 Young Journalist Award.  

Almost 300 journalists aged 30 and under from countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than US$20,000 submitted their stories. They wrote about corruption, war crimes, domestic violence, broken health systems, women’s rights and many other issues that are pressing in their countries. 

After reviewing the work of the shortlisted journalists and many hours of discussion, the jury decided that the three finalists competing for the prestigious 2022 Young Journalist Award are Carlos Raúl Kestler, a Guatemalan journalist, and two journalists from India – Jyoti Yadav and Yashraj Sharma.  

“The quality of investigation, storytelling and use of multi-media has been exceptional in this year’s entries,” says Deborah Kelly, director of training and communications at the Thomson Foundation. “I would recommend everyone to take the time to read the powerful and compelling work from these finalists.” 

This year’s top three 

In his three multimedia investigation series “Broken Connectivity”, Carlos Raúl Kestler highlights the enormous impact a lack of proper infrastructure can have on the development of tourism and, ultimately, the social and economic development of his home country Guatemala.  

In the last 50 years, over 46 million forced abortions on women who carried daughters took place in India. Yashraj Sharma tells the heart-breaking story of the treatment of women in Indian society and tries to explain why this practice, which is still carried out, cuts through class and geographical divisions. 

Mathura’s rape case exists in research papers, judicial history, essays on Indian feminist movement, but not in any official record. Her rapists were acquitted six years after the attack happened but journalist Jyoti Yadav tracks her down to make sure her story isn’t forgotten and justice is served, even if it’s half a century late.