The Media Initiatives Center has summarized the results of the annual “Tvapatum 2025” journalism contest.
This year, 91 journalists from 34 media outlets applied, submitting 141 entries. This marks the eleventh consecutive year of “Tvapatum” awards.
This time, the committee was formed differently. Representatives from the media outlets that had received the most “Tvapatum” awards over the past ten years—”Hetq”, “Mediamax”, and “Infocom”—were invited to participate. To prevent any conflicts of interest, journalists from these outlets did not take part in the contest.
Nune Sargsyan, the executive director of the Media Initiatives Center, said that the approach will remain consistent, and the members of the professional committee will rotate. The contest aims to promote quality and ethical journalism by recognizing journalistic excellence in human-centered stories. It is noteworthy that one of the award categories is titled “Homo Agendi” (person in action).
This category focuses on individuals whose initiatives, civic engagement, and commitment to improving their environment serve as a model for others.
This year’s winner was Narine Ghalechyan, a journalist with Radio Liberty, recognized for her story “4 Years, 1,454 Bags of Garbage: Hakob Mikoyan’s Clean Struggle.”
Both the author and the protagonist of the winning article were each awarded 250,000 drams.
Narine Ghalechyan and Head of the European Union Mission to Armenia Vassilis Maragos
Additionally, Radio Liberty journalist Hasmik Smbatyan received a special award and a 150,000-dram prize for her “How Should We Live” series.
“All my heroes give answers to the question we’ve all been asking since 2020: how to cope with everything that has happened. My heroes are the people of Artsakh who are beginning their lives anew. I strive to offer them a formula for ‘how to live,’” said Hasmik Smbatyan.
Hasmik Smbatyan
In the same category, an encouraging award and a prize of 50,000 drams were awarded to young journalist Lusine Hakobyan for her story titled “Fight on Two Fronts: World Military Wrestling Championship Champion Andranik Avetisyan.”
Radio Liberty earned three awards during the “Tvapatum 2025” event. Editor Heghine Buniatyan’s article, “When, Who, and What Was Negotiated Over Meghri, According to Declassified State Department Documents,” was recognized as the best entry in the “Ditak” investigative journalism category and received a prize of 200,000 drams.
Jury member Tirayr Muradyan outlined the principles used in selecting the award winner.
“First and foremost, we assessed the publication’s impact and the topic’s relevance to the public.”
The author, adhering to professional ethics and utilising available documents, has shed light on one of the most debated topics in Armenia’s public political life: a stage in the negotiations over Karabakh. “Given the specific nature of the topic and the importance of maintaining balance, I believe it would be beneficial for the author also to address the other stages of the negotiations,” said Hetq journalist Tirayr Muradyan.
In the “Earrings” category, which aims to raise awareness of contemporary perspectives on gender equality and the roles of women and men, the committee selected Lilit Hovhannisyan, a journalist from Ampop Media, as the winner. She was awarded 200,000 drams for her article titled “Empty Chairs, Silenced Voices: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Local Governments.”
Lilit Hovhannisyan
Presenting the award, jury member and Infocom editor Sevak Mamyan noted that he was especially impressed by how the author not only told the story of a female council member but also conducted large-scale data analysis, including indicators of women’s involvement in council activities in other communities.
“This award also recognizes the efforts of women who, despite the pressures and persistent gender misinformation against them, continue to fight for their representation in public political life persistently,” said Lilit Hovhannisyan.
In this category, the committee also recognized the series “Liberated Men,” authored by Boon TV journalists Lilit Musyuk and Aren Voskanyan.
In the following three categories, CivilNet journalists were named the winners.
CivilNet winners
The statuette for the winner of the “Home and Place” nomination, along with the award of 200,000 AMD, was presented to CivilNet journalist Lusine Vardanyan for her video titled “Disco ‘Zartonk’: The Armenian Collective Farm That Reached Space.”
This category highlights stories about the development of both urban and rural communities.
The “Emergency note” category addresses humanitarian issues in crises and conflicts, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this category, Zara Amatuni, the Communications Program Officer for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Armenia, also joined the jury. The winner, Hayk Ghazaryan, a journalist from CivilNet, was chosen unanimously. He received 200,000 drams for his video “September 25: the last ‘fire’ in fading Artsakh.”
In this category, the committee granted a special prize of 150,000 drams to Medialab journalist Vahe Nersisyan for illustrating the story of Jacko the Horse through comics.
Vahe Nersisyan
The “Covering Science” category is supported by the Gituzh initiative. Lilit Margaryan, Head of Outreach and Public Relations at Gituzh, also participated in the evaluation of this category.
This year, the committee did not award a main prize in this category. A special award and a 150,000-dram prize were awarded to CivilNet for its consistent, ongoing efforts to popularize scientific topics.
