The International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ) and the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE) announced the winner of first edition of the Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award. The international jury also awarded three special mentions.

The coronavirus outbreak didn’t stop the 1st edition of the Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award. The international Jury is in the process of selecting the winner, who will be announced on Monday, June 22nd. We received many powerful entries and we very much look forward to reading the story selected by the jurors. If you are also eager to know the winner, check out the IARJ and FSCIRE websites on 22nd June!

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing new challenges to journalists covering faith and religion. In early April, we invited our IARJ members covering this unprecedented story to share their holiday-related religion stories. We continue to receive news reports related to the impact of COVID-19 in different regions of the world—and we are passing along these fascinating reports by our members.

ALERT for journalists across Europe and around the Mediterranean basin: only one week left for submitting your works to the first Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award.

In this interview in our Journalism Spotlight series, religion reporter Deepa Bharath of the Orange County Register (Southern California News Group) discusses the challenges of covering faith and religion in her part of the world.

Many of us at the IARJ are directly affected by the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic. We are publishing this sample of spiritual wisdom we have collected from around the world as a way to encourage all journalists to report on this vital theme in the crisis. At their best, religious leaders around the world can inspire billions of families to cope with the anxiety and to remain compassionate toward their neighbors.

Journalists around the world are scrambling to follow the spread of COVID 19, also known as Coronavirus. To encourage other religion journalists to report on the impact, Elisa Di Bendetto writes: “I live in the Veneto region of Italy, about 120 km from the locked down town of Vo’ Euganeo and 60 km from the nearest cases, and I can report first-hand that confirmed cases of the virus dramatically change life for people of faith.”

ALERT for journalists across Europe and around the Mediterranean basin that the deadline for the first Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award is now extended to April 27, 2020. This column also has links to the entry page, contest details and information on the international jury of prominent journalists —and answers to frequently asked questions.

The IARJ and Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE) announced the names of the seven journalists serving as members of the international jury of the 1st Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award. The winner will be presented at the 2020 annual conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe), next June. Journalists across Europe and around the Mediterranean basin can submit their works by February 28, 2020.

The IARJ’s Elisa Di Benedetto reports on a landmark conference in Rome that brought together 250 religious leaders, healthcare experts and scholars from 35 countries to develop a better understanding of the role religion can play in healthy aging. Two IARJ co-founders participated: Elisa and Maria Paz Lopez. This issue can be a rich source of stories for religion writers around the world.