WAN-IFRA Women in News has named Mary Mbewe the 2020 Editorial Leadership Award Laureate for Africa.
Mbewe is the executive editor of the Daily Nation in Zambia
The announcement will be made at WAN-IFRA’s Digital Media Africa conference that is currently taking place virtually.
In her acceptance letter to Women in News, Mary expressed her passion for telling true and authentic human stories of everyday Zambians who often go unnoticed.
“I am happy to be part of a team shaping a different narrative in supporting ordinary people. This award is therefore dedicated to all the hardworking men and women who spend hours making life easy for others, such as the women in shelters. And of course, to the Zambian men and women in the media for striving to be better than the best, sailing and surviving through storms in a tough field – especially the havoc caused by Covid-19.”
WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne congratulated Mary for the achievement and said the Award comes at a right time.
“Recognizing leadership and celebrating excellence is even more important in today’s context. While media and the world remain gripped in this crisis of the global pandemic, Mary continues to exemplify excellence and resiliency bringing everyday news and human stories day after day,” he said.
The WIN Editorial Leadership Award selects one outstanding editor from Sub-Saharan Africa and one from the Arab Region, annually.
The Award recognises excellence in leadership, and an unwavering commitment to equality and press freedom.
Mbewe has had a prestigious career that has spanned 30 years in the industry and includes serving as the first woman Editor-in-Chief of a major newspaper in Zambia.
She has dedicated her work to telling human stories, often of marginalised people and communities which too often get left behind.
She has invested herself in the training and development of journalists starting their career and has acted as a mentor and inspiration to many women journalists.
Mbewe has been in her current position since May 2017 when she joined the company. Prior to this position, she had served as Chief Sub Editor and Personnel Officer.
She started her journalism career with the Zambia Daily Mail in 1991 and by 2000 was confirmed as Editor-in-Chief, becoming the first woman at the paper, and in Zambia as a whole, to hold the prestigious position.
Mbewe is a founding member of the Zambia Union of journalists (ZUJ), and a member of the Zambia Media Women Association (ZAMWA) and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)’s Zambian Chapter.
Each year, the Women in News Editorial Leadership Award is awarded to one outstanding woman editor in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region and in the Arab Region, annually.
The Award recognises an exemplary contribution of an Editor to her newsroom, and under her leadership, the contribution of the media industry.
The 2020 Laureate for the Arab Region will be named later this month.
Past Laureates from Sub-Saharan Africa are Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye from Nigeria (2014); Pamella Makotsi Sittoni from Kenya (2017); Barbara Kaija from Uganda (2018) and Anna Nimiriano from South Sudan (2019).