EJN grantee Voltaire Tupaz and his 360 Perspective: Women of the Mountains won the Best Immersive (360, VR) at the Regional Round of the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2019. The immersive video takes viewers to the ancestral land of Merly Deppas and Jennifer Rimando, two indigenous women leading the fight to preserve their way of life in the picturesque Mountain Province of the Philippines. Tupaz co-produced the video and related story for FYT, an independent media group he helped found in 2018. He and the other winners will receive their awards at the gala finals in Singapore on December 6. Watch the full video, or read the story on the EJN website.

Sri K. Rajendran, a reporter for Kairali TV in India and a recipient of EJN’s 2019 Asia-Pacific health-focused story grants, received an award from the Indian Psychiatrist Society for best mental health reporting in the television medium for a documentary he produced under the grant about the toll storms take on mental health, particularly among children and vulnerable populations. He received the award on October 10, World Mental Health Day.

Andrea Polanco, a 2018 Climate Change Media Partnership Fellow and television reporter in Belize, was recognized as Environmental Journalist of the Year by Oceana, an international organization leading ocean conservation efforts through science-based policy campaigns.

(Banner photo: Sri K. Rajendran receives his award.)