At a reception held on 21 July at the Maltese Community Centre in Parkville to celebrate the 60th anniversary since its formation, the Maltese Community Council of Victoria (MCCV) presented the 2017 MCCV Annual Awards. One of these awards was posthumously made to the late Mrs Daphne Caruana Galizia for general services to the broader Maltese community and her valuable contribution to democracy in Malta through her fearless investigative journalism.
“Daphne paid the ultimate price with her own life for pursuing her altruistic and highly admirable mission. Far from being in vain, her untimely death needs to inspire other journalists and media houses in Malta to follow her lead and be as courageous as she was in using investigative journalism in search for the truth and serving democracy and the common good,” said MCCV President Victor Borg.
“It was an amazing response by the world media to Daphne’s murder to have 45 journalists from 18 major news organizations agreeing to collaborate in a unique investigation to keep her stories alive by setting up The Daphne Project. Her painstaking investigations must be continued and brought to fruition,” he said.
Participating in The Daphne Project are some of the best news organisations in the world, such as, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, La Repubblica in Italy, Le Monde in France, Reuters, The Guardian in the UK, Australia and the USA, and the New York Times in the USA. The Times of Malta is also a collaborating partner on the project.
The MCCV’s award to Mrs Caruana Galizia is a public recognition by the Maltese community in Melbourne of her significant contribution to democracy and the rule of law in Malta. The MCCV is particularly proud to join the many organisations around the world in recognising, remembering and honouring Daphne Caruana Galizia for her outstanding achievements with this posthumous award.
The European Parliament and several organisations promoting press freedom have acknowledged her achievements. Many bestowed posthumous awards on her, including the Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust, the Swedish National Press Club, the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University in the USA, the Reporter-Forum in Germany, the Ronchese Association of Journalism and the Tuscan Association of Journalists both in Italy, the Order of Journalists in Sicily, the Press Emblem Campaign’s Award for the Protection of Journalists in Switzerland, and the Institute of Maltese Journalists.
MCCV posthumously honours Daphne Caruana Galizia for contribution to democracy in Malta
