Rosie Anfilogoff has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Hugo Young Award (19-25 category). Rosie’s winning piece Higher education was easily accessible to disabled people during Covid. Why are we being shut out now?, focuses on the issues people with disabilities face accessing higher education in the UK, in particular after the reduction of online learning post-pandemic.
The judges, which included prominent Guardian journalists, said:
“This is a powerful and interesting piece that had a clear solution set out. The piece was written passionately and convincingly on a topic that is not frequently written about and has the potential to make a difference by being published. It shows originality in discussing the intersection of disability and universities, engagement with counter-arguments, bringing in a relevant post pandemic debate and the ability to prompt the reader with some of their own thoughts on this issue”
Rosie said:
“I’m honoured to have been selected for this award and so grateful to The Guardian Foundation for this opportunity. While the failure of higher education to adequately accommodate disabled students is something I face personally, the issue is so much bigger than me, and I hope my piece can bring attention to the unnecessary exclusion many students experience.”
Rosie’s article has been published in the Guardian’s opinion section and will be in the Guardian newspaper on Thursday 18 April. Rosie will also shadow a Guardian journalist for a week and receive a cash prize of £1,000.
The runner up was Georgia Mealings, for her reflection on alcoholism after the death of her father, and the role that culture and government legislation plays in this issue.
The award, run by The Guardian Foundation, is now in its seventh year and was created in memory of Hugo Young, a political columnist at the Guardian for almost 20 years and one of the most influential figures in British political journalism. It is a political opinion writing competition celebrating new voices and fresh perspectives in the UK which, now more than ever, is essential to the future of quality, independent journalism.
Entries were judged blind by a panel of Guardian journalists against a criteria of finding the most topical, thoughtful and well-researched entries.
Hugo Young award (16-18 age category)
The Hugo Young Award’s younger category returned for a fourth year.
Beth Riding, from Camborne Science and International Academy, Cornwall has been announced as the winner for her piece I’m 17 and haven’t seen a dentist for four years. This is life in England’s NHS dental deserts, which looks at inequality of access to dental care in her local area.
The judges said:
“The focus on local issues in Cornwall provided a fresh element to the wider discussions around issues of dental care in the UK. This piece is particularly journalistic, finding a great balance in writing about personal experience and backing it up with relevant facts, research as well as finding links to government policy.”
Beth said:
“I’m very grateful to the judges for selecting my piece as the winner of the 16-18 age category this year, and thrilled that my work will be shared with others. The Hugo Young Award allowed me to explore my passion for writing, giving me the opportunity to craft an article on a topic I feel strongly about - health inequalities within dentistry. Having witnessed a decline in NHS dentists in my home county of Cornwall, I hope my piece will shine a light on just how extensive the crisis is, allowing others to see, and hopefully want to change, the way that oral health is managed across the UK.”
Beth’s article has also been published in the Guardian’s opinion section and she will receive free Guardian Live tickets, a digital subscription and more.
The runners up were Saoirse Williams, for her piece on Feminism and Andrew Tate and Tiara Ekanayake Goonasinghe for her reflection on growing up under a Conservative government.
More information about The Guardian Foundation can be found here.
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For more information please contact:
media.enquiries@theguardian.com or 020 3353 3696
About The Guardian Foundation
The Guardian Foundation’s purpose is to promote global press freedom and access to liberal journalism. Through their work in schools, communities and media organisations, they strive for a world where people have access to reliable information, from a diverse range of sources, strengthening their ability to hold power to account.
Further information about the charity’s work can be found here.