Geneva honours Palestinian and Ugandan cartoonists for defending rights
Safaa Odah and Jimmy "Spire" Sseetongo are this year's winners of the Prix international de dessin de presse in Geneva. The Palestinian is being honoured for her humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip, the Ugandan for his cartoons critical of the government.
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Geneva honours Palestinian and Ugandan cartoonists for defending rights
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“Our 2026 Prize is a call for the freedom of cartoonists and for Safaa to finally be freed from her prison of rubble,” explained Patrick Chappatte, founder and president of the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation.
+ Patrick Chappatte: ‘The path for satire has been getting narrower’
Safaa Odah was granted asylum by France before the reception programme for scientists and artists was suspended. Although the programme was resumed, she is still stuck.
Since then, she has continued to draw, sometimes on the canvas of her tent in the destroyed Palestinian territory. Before the war in October 2023, she campaigned for the emancipation of women and young people with drawings, comics and posters. Today, she depicts the everyday life of the population in the Gaza Strip without directly addressing politics.
Spire, a self-taught artist, has been working for the Ugandan newspaper The Observer since 2006. He also works as a researcher and has published numerous articles and books. He is often harassed and has been targeted by the authorities since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
In 2024, he received death threats after launching an anti-corruption campaign on social media.
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Cartoons – capturing freedom of expression
Translated from German by AI/mga
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