Worldfocus: Crisis in Congo videos receive Emmy nomination

Worldfocus was nominated for an Emmy in the “Best story in a regularly scheduled newscast” category for our coverage of the “Crisis in Congo” (Executive Producer: Marc Rosenwasser, Correspondent: Michael J. Kavanagh of the Pulitzer Center, Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Taylor Krauss).

The “Crisis in Congo” videos also won the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the international television category.

War in DR Congo: The story of Pascal and Vestine

Rape as a weapon of war

For original article: Worldfocus receives two Emmy nominations!

Columbia J-School: Lisa Biagiotti wins RFK Journalism Award

Lisa Biagiotti ‘08 has won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the international television category for “War in DR Congo,” a Worldfocus production.

“War in DR Congo” honors the victims of a humanitarian crisis often ignored by the mainstream media. Over five million people have died, mostly from preventable disease and starvation, in Congo’s decade-long civil war. In the last year alone, more than a million people have fled the fighting. Such staggering data on death and displacement in the region often overshadows the personal stories of human suffering, which this report brings to life.

Marc Rosenwasser, Michael J. Kavanagh and Taylor Krauss share this honor with Biagiotti, who specialized in new media at the Journalism School.

Biagiotti is also the executive editor of Worldfocus.org and has produced online content for the PBS foreign affairs documentary series “Wide Angle,” the J-School Web magazine NYC24 and the Queens blog “Junction BLVD.” In 2001, Lisa received a Fulbright grant to research Muslim immigration in Italy and currently serves on the New York board of the Fulbright Association.

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights announced winners in nine professional and four student categories of the 41st Annual Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards. The winning pieces examine the causes, conditions and remedies of injustice and analyze relevant public policies and attitudes and private endeavors.

For original article: Lisa Biagiotti ‘08 wins RFK Journalism Award

Worldfocus: Rape as a weapon of war in DR Congo

War has raged through the Democratic Republic of Congo for more than a decade — it has been called the deadliest conflict since World War II.

The United Nations estimates that 200,000 women and girls have been raped in that time, some victims as young as three years old.

Both the Congolese army and rebel groups have used rape as a weapon of war.

Armed groups use rape to tear apart families, spread disease and weaken communities. Women are often victimized doubly — first by their rapists and secondly by spouses or family members who then find it dishonorable or socially unacceptable to associate with them.

Worldfocus correspondent Michael J. Kavanagh of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and video journalist Taylor Krauss recently reported from eastern Congo. Together with Lisa Biagiotti, they produced this signature story.

Watch a companion Web-original video: Rehabilitating rape victims and families in Congo.

Worldfocus Radio: Crisis in Congo

I produced this online radio show for Worldfocus.org.

Worldfocus.org presents a webcasted radio show on roots of the conflict and prospects for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the help of BlogTalkRadio.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured conflict for more than a decade in what has been called the deadliest war since World War II. More than 5 million people have died and the country is also the site of the largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission in United Nations history.

In the last year alone, more than a million people have fled the fighting in eastern Congo. For more on the conflict, read our Q&A: History, rebels and crisis in eastern Congo.

Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosts a panel featuring a range of voices and perspectives on eastern Congo:

Séverine Autesserre is an assistant professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She researches civil wars, peace building and peace keeping, humanitarian aid and African politics. Her upcoming book is called Failing the Congo: International intervention and local violence. Before entering academia, Séverine worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo for humanitarian and development agencies.

Nancee Oku Bright currently heads up the United Nations’ Great Lakes team of the department of peacekeeping operations, which covers and Burundi. She served in MONUC and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as chief of the Africa section, as well as chief of the advocacy and public information. A Liberian, she is also the director of the documentary film “Liberia: America’s Stepchild,” which aired on PBS in 2002.

Michael J. Kavanagh is a journalist with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting who reports about post-conflict development across Africa. He has been reporting on Congo for five years and his work has been regularly featured on Worldfocus.

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