Paul Klebnikov Prize for Excellence in Journalism 2006
The Paul Klebnikov Fund was created in his memory by his family, friends and colleagues. Paul believed that a healthy civil society is founded on principles of honesty, decency and respect for the law. He was convinced that human dignity is based on the preservation of fundamental moral values, none being more important than upholding the truth: his work epitomized the highest standards of journalism. In his honor, the Paul Klebnikov Fund was established to continue Paul's commitment to transparency, freedom of speech and the development of a healthy civil society in Russia.
The Fund awards an annual Excellence in Journalism Prize to a senior journalist from the former Soviet Union whose work in the preceding year best exemplifies Paul's vision of journalism as a force for civic betterment in the region. The fund is pleased to announce its 2006 award winner: Bagila Bukharbayeva.
Bagila Bukharbayeva
The Associated Press, Central Asia correspondent
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Bagila Bukharbayeva had to flee her native Uzbekistan because of the government's response to her independent coverage of the Andijan uprising in May 2005. Now Bukharbayeva works as the Central Asia correspondent for the Associated Press news service. She is responsible for the wire service's coverage of the region, supervising and editing the work of stringers.
She has 12 years' journalism experience, a bachelor's degree in journalism from Tashkent State University and a master's degree in international journalism from City University in London, England.
"I think my main achievement is that through my stories I've contributed to telling the world about a complex and turbulent region of Central Asia, which remains little known, and still less understood, 15 years after five new nations emerged here from the Soviet disintegration.
"I've had the privilege of being part of some tragic and historic events in Central Asia, being beside participants in those events at the highest, hardest or saddest points of their lives. Some of them were ready to die for their ideas, for their loved ones. They shared with me their hopes, grief, desperation and I tried to be their voice in the outside world. Those moments are my most precious achievement."
— Bagila Bukharbayeva
Bukharbayeva accepted the Paul Klebnikov Prize for Excellence in Journalism at the International Center for Journalists' Annual Awards Dinner.
Bukharbayeva also participated in the October 11 panel discussion: "Journalists Under Fire: Covering Conflict in Four Global Hot Spots" at the National Press Club.
