The Edita and Ira Morris Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture has decided to award its 2023 prize to Burma News International (BNI) of Myanmar. BNI is an umbrella organisation comprised of 15 ethnic news/media outlets that are bravely spreading news across ethnic groups inside and outside the country and reporting about atrocities and crimes against humanity, as well as translating the news into English for an international audience.

The prize was awarded to BNI for its peace-building efforts over the years, and its unfailing commitment to human rights and democracy, especially since the military coup of February 2021.

BNI was founded by four ethnic and local independent media organisations, namely Mizzima Media Group, Khonumthung Media Group, Kaladan Press Network and Narinjara News.

BNI’s Managing Director is Ms. Tin Tin Nyo, a human and women’s rights advocate who, along with her colleagues, has worked for over a decade to promote peace and justice in Myanmar/Burma.

The 2023 Prize amounts to an estimated $50,000 USD. An award ceremony is foreseen to take place in Stockholm, Sweden in September of 2023.

The Edita and Ira Morris Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture was created in 1989 following a bequest by the Swedish author Edita Morris (1902-1988) who was married to the American author Ira Morris (1903-1972). It is named after Edita Morris ’most famous novel The Flowers of Hiroshima which describes the suffering caused by the atomic bomb.

The Foundation presents awards to women and men who contribute, in a cultural field, to fostering dialogue, understanding and peace in conflict areas. The prize is usually awarded every second year, but intervals vary. The 2020 prize was awarded to the Bi-Communal Choir for Peace in Cyprus. The 2018 prize was awarded to Mike van Graan, a South-African born playwright and cultural activist, for his contribution to the fight against apartheid.