Life for people living on the front line of war, conflict and climate change is exposed in graphic and often courageous detail by journalists who’ve made the final 12 in the 2025 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award. Many of these journalists went to considerable and often at times dangerous lengths to expose the trauma, deprivation and upheaval being endured by ordinary people to ensure their voices are heard.
Journalist Oksana Savoskina from hromadske news outlet in Ukraine and her team were filming close to active fighting when their car was hit by a drone, setting it on fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt and Oksana’s film about a team of volunteers trying to rescue two abandoned horses is a glimpse of a day-in-the-life on the front line.
The desperate plight of families living without food and basic amenities in displacement camps in Puntland, an autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, is exposed by Mohamoud Shire of Radio Ergo in Somalia while in Nigeria, freelance journalist Abdulrasheed Hammad speaks to the displaced parents of malnourished children for the International Center for Investigative Reporting in a harsh exposé of life for many refugees.
In Ecuador, Jorge Navarrate’s investigation reveals the country’s cocaine trade and how children are working in its production. Jorge was forced to leave the country for a time after receiving death threats because of his reporting.
An investigation by Yaqut Ali at The Wire in India into the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur shows the devastating impact on the lives of those forced to flee their homes and businesses which have been taken over by militant groups.
Holding those in power to account was a theme throughout the 681 stories submitted by 227 journalists from 60 countries this year. Godwin Asediba’s investigation into appalling conditions at a hospital morgue in Ghana for TV3 helped to secure his place in the top 12 finalists. His undercover filming has been viewed millions of times online and has prompted a public debate in the country.
In Malawi, a human trafficking network involving public officials was exposed by journalist Julius Mbeŵe in his investigation for the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) Malawi. He discovered how a mother was falsely declared dead to facilitate the adoption of her three children by a foreign family. Tracy Onchoke from Africa Uncensored in Kenya discovered serious irregularities in her investigation to find out why hundreds of law students in the country are failing bar exams while in Nigeria, Yakubu Mohammed from Premium Times uncovered the extent of Nigeria's illicit lithium trade by posing as a buyer to interact with people illegally trading on social media platforms.
The impact of climate change on some of the most vulnerable communities continues to dominate storytelling. Freelance journalist Sanket Jain examines the science behind the effects of extreme heat on brain health and the impact it’s having on outdoor workers in a story for Chemical and Engineering News. While in Kenya, journalist Wangu Kanuri from Daily Nation in Kenya talks to children and teachers struggling to cope at schools where extreme heat is making classrooms feel like ovens. In Balochistan, the environmental and economic impact of illegal deep-sea trawling on coastal communities is discussed by freelance journalist Hazaran Rahim Dad writing for Prism–DAWN.com in Pakistan.
“This year’s entries illustrate that young journalists are uncovering injustice and tackling the issues that face our planet,” says Deborah Kelly, Director of Training and Communications at Thomson Foundation. “Through their tenacity and courage, they are telling the stories from their communities that matter, ensuring their voices are heard.”
The Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award is run in partnership with the UK’s Foreign Press Association (FPA). The winner will be announced at the annual FPA Awards ceremony in London in November.
The competition is open to journalists aged 30 and under, from countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than USD20,000.
