Student wins international journalism prize

Takis Würger, St John's student and writer for the German news magazine Der Spiegel, has been awarded the "Writing for CEE" 2014 journalism prize.

Würger received the award at a ceremony in Vienna for his report from Illichivsk, a provincial town in southern Ukraine, which is at the centre of a conflict regarding a seven metre tall gold statue of Lenin. While some are calling for the statue to be torn down, locals of the town, known as the "Guards of Illichivsk" have gathered to protect the memorial. Würger's report investigates this situation in order to highlight the social and political divisions in the country.

Takis Würger and his photographer Fabian Weiß travlled through Ukraine for eight days to report on the statue controversy, speaking to both Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian supporters. "Fabian and I simply spent a few days by the statue, drank a lot of tea, ate a lot of roasted bacon and froze”, explained Würger. “This is what I normally do. Just hang around and be quiet for a few days so that the people lose their fears".

Journalist Cornelia Vospernik, who presented the award to Würger, said: "Takis Würger not only delivered a text that was perfect in terms of structure, style and language, but he also did what is considered one of the most important tasks of us journalists: breaking the big picture down into comprehensible parts".

Takis Würger, 29, has written for Der Speigel for over five years, and is currently on a three-year journalistic sabbatical to study Human, Social and Political Science (HSPS) at St John's College, Cambridge.

The annual "Writing for CEE" journalism award, presented by Austria Presse Agentur and UniCredit Bank Austria, aims to promote journalistic debate around issues of European  society and politics. The award is given to articles that deal with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), in order to support mutual understanding and overcome prejudice. APA Chief Editor, Michael Lang, said: "This year's submissions from 21 countries clearly demonstrate that this message is being heard throughout Central Europe and beyond".