
Lebanese-based Nisrine Ajab has won the Thomson Foundation mobile journalism challenge and five others have been commended.
Nisrine, who is from Beirut, along with others on the competition's final shortlist, discarded planned videos because of the coronavirus lockdown and shifted instead to filming the impact of the pandemic on their communities.
The course had been due to be completed by the end of March but Thomson Foundation extended the deadline into April because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also issued new guidelines, recommending participants work from home and to make coronavirus the theme of their videos.
Rather than abandon the programme because of the lockdowns, we thought it important to highlight how mobile journalism was even more an essential tool for journalism in the circumstances, says Hosam El Nagar, director of inovation and learning at the foundation. The majority of journalists have a phone with them and it is the one tool that will combine multimedia with connectivity.
A simple life under lockdown Now in its sixth year, the challenge, run in partnership with MojoFest, the world's longest running smartphone content creators festival, is aimed at helping journalists around the world make better use of their smart phones. Participants completed a series of free online courses and, for their final assignment, made a film entirely on their smartphones.
For her final assignment, Nisrine interviewed a neighbour to produce an outstanding, elegiac film about growing lavender in the mountains above Beirut.
As well as tips on how to grow lavender, her erudite neighbour had a wider message about how the coronavirus should encourage people to recognise the value of a simpler life.
The story was editorially and visually engaging, the variety of shots was dynamic and very well filmed, the editing had good pacing and was very well executed, and technically the piece stood out among the competing entries, says Glen Mulcahy, the foundation's in-house expert on mobile journalism and founder of MojoFest.
-- Play
-- --
Finalists Nisrine was one of six finalists in the Mobile Journalism Challenge.
The other finalists were:
-- Play
-- --
Marina Milad - A digitial investigative journalist from Cairo. For her final assignment completed before lockdown, Marina produced a dramatic, newsy film on the consequences of flooding in Egypt.
-- Play
-- --
Maksuda Aziz - a multimedia journalist from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her engaging and sympathetic film centred on the impact of the lockdown on a family during the Covid-19 pandemic
-- Play
-- --
Lika Toloraia - A journalist from Dnipro, Ukraine. Her video shot during lockdown in the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the confusion over restrictions imposed during the lockdown.
-- Play
-- --
Christophe Hitayezu - A news correspondent for the news platform Down to Earth India in Kigali, Rwanda. His enterprising piece stitched together items about Covid-19 from social media.
-- Play
-- --
Daria Smetanko - A journalist working for the television channel Ukraine based in Kyiv in Ukraine. Her film catalogued a day in her life as a journalist under lockdown.
Prize Nisrine won an all-expenses-paid trip to MojoFest in London. MojoFest was originally scheduled for May but has been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The other five shortlisted have been commended for outstanding content. All who completed the course receive certificates of achievement.
Overall, I felt the quality was well above average, says judge Glen Mulcahy. And clearly demonstrated that going through the free Foundation Mojo course on Journalism Now paid dividends in quality and approach of the storytelling.
The judges were: Glen, who is a former head of innovation with RTE, Ireland's national public broadcaster: Hosam El Nagar, who is leading Thomson Foundation's drive into e-learning; Berna Namata, journalist and the foundation's Africa specialist; and Ewen MacAskill, the foundation's mentor and award-winning former Guardian journalist.
The importance of mobile journalism
Glen Mulcahy - Covering the Covid-19 Pandemic - Smartphones For over a decade, the mantra among mobile photographers and mobile journalists has been the best camera is the one you have with you. In these unprecedented times of social distancing and working from home that device, the smartphone, can - and has - empowered a vast array of journalism and storytelling.
To be able to leverage it to even a fraction of its full potential requires knowledge and understanding of the best apps, accessories, workflows and hacks available.
Now, more than ever, journalists need to be able to competently utilise the tools they already own. It's not just a phone. It's a HD/4k video camera, a diverse photography device, a complete video and/or audio editing tool, a broadcast live streaming too that can also make phone calls. Learn to use it.
Ewen MacAskill Investigative journalism
Ewen MacAskill is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former defence and intelligence correspondent for The Guardian who acts as a mentor for Thomson Foundation trainees.
We get around. Explore our project map
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Riedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one of the most technically ambitious Eurovision Song Contest productions to date. For the first time in the...
07/07/2026
Berklee Valencia Honors Eric Whitacre at the 2026 Commencement Ceremony The Grammy-winning composer was celebrated alongside this years cohort of masters degr...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
The appointment will drive growth and innovation across the Media Business Unit
Fincons Group, a leading IT business consultancy and systems integrator company...
07/07/2026
International broadcast and streaming expert Big Blue Marble has announced a multi-month Proof of Concept (PoC) for Media over QUIC (MoQ) during a major interna...
07/07/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is proud to announce that two of its leading products, the PHABRIX Qx rasterizer and LeaderPhabrix L...
07/07/2026
Clear-Com announced that Ross Production Services (RPS), a leading provider of mobile production solutions for live events and broadcasts, has standardized on ...
07/07/2026
LiveU redefined live newsgathering with the invention of cellular bonding. At IBC2026, Stand 7.C24, the company will show how that foundation is evolving into t...
07/07/2026
LucidLink, a leader in cloud-based file services for content creators, today announced an enhanced workflow integration between LucidLink and Adobe Frame.io tha...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
To Whom It Concerns RT today confirmed that Patrick Kielty is to extend his contract as host of The Late Late Show.
Last season, the world's longest-runn...
07/07/2026
Max single-threaded CPUs at scale are a new category of CPUs built for the agentic AI era.
Across the creation and deployment of an agentic system, the CPU is...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...