HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Sharqi, the Crown Prince of Fujairah, presented the International Energy Journalism Awards (IEJA) yesterday to the 2023 class of IEJA Winners, who were recognized for their excellence in reporting on the most important industry in the Middle East.
The IEJA Awards, produced by Gulf Intelligence, were created in 2017 after the GCC Secretariat initiated a strategic communications campaign to elevate the competence and standards for the media coverage of the regional energy industry. In the whitepaper produced on the occasion, there were many recommendations that called on the media to place greater emphasis on accurate reporting and publishing, where information should be harvested from facts and not based on rumors and speculation.
The IEJA Winners of 2023 included Paula Naoufal, Senior Reporter with CNN Business Arabic, who was recognized as the IEJA Winner in the Middle East Media – Arabic language category, while Brandy Scott, Business Breakfast Presenter, Dubai Eye Radio, won the accolade in the category of Middle East Media – English language. “In all cases, the seven-member International Selection Committee (ISC) of current and former leading energy journalists gave weight in their assessment of candidates to the demonstration of individual enterprise, fairness, speed, accuracy and objectivity,” said the ISC Chairperson Kate Dourian, FEI Non-Resident Fellow, The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and Former Platts Middle East Bureau Chief.
The International Energy Journalism Awards ceremony was hosted as part of the 11th edition of the Energy Markets Forum, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi, Supreme Council Member & Ruler of Fujairah, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, with global industry leaders in attendance, including OPEC’s Secretary General HE Haitham Al Ghais, H.E. Eng. Sharif Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and such industry luminaries as H.E. Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC Group, and Talal Al-Awfi, the Group CEO of OQ.
The annual gathering in Fujairah convened 300 senior executives, regulators and policymakers tasked with leading the Middle East’s trading, storage, marketing and shipping of oil and gas across the East of Suez markets, to exchange knowledge and insights on relevant and timely trends impacting their industry.
The other IEJA Winners acknowledged this year included Nader Itayim, Middle East Bureau Chief of Argus Media, who was acknowledged for the category of International Energy Specialist Media, and Dan Murphy, Anchor & Correspondent, CNBC, won for the category of International General Financial Media. The annual IEJA awards also celebrates excellence in corporate communications, and Abeer Masood, Communications Director – Middle East & Africa at GE Vernova, was acclaimed as Energy Industry Corporate Communications Executive of The Year.