Rudaw’s “The Korowai: A window into the past” was nominated for the “Travel and Lifestyle” category against documentaries from Western media outlets like CNN. After online voting ended, the documentary was announced the winner of its category.
The producer and presenter of the documentary, Roj Eli Zalla, and his team who helped him produce the documentary arrived in New York to attend the Webby Awards’ 28th edition and receive the award.
Zalla said key figures like Michelle Obama could attend the event, which is set to start at midnight.
The documentary, which was released in October, was shot on the island of Papua in Indonesia and tells the story of the Korowai tribe living in the forest who were not discovered until the 1970s. They did not know of the existence of an outside world, and neither did the world know of their existence.
Several Kurdish and Iraqi officials congratulated Rudaw for the achievement.
“This official recognition is a source of pride for us, especially when taking into account the strong competition from international media organizations such as CNN and Bloomberg,” Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor, said in a statement sent to Rudaw.
Yehia Rasool, military spokesperson for Iraq’s prime minister, also congratulated Rudaw, describing it as the “best and most advanced” media outlet.
Zirek Kamal, a spokesperson for Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, said in his congratulatory message that the award “is a sign of success for Rudaw and all media movements in the Kurdistan Region.”
The Webby Awards, established in 1996, are global excellence awards presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Described as the Oscars of the internet, the awards focus on innovation and technical skills on various online platforms.
Nominees are selected by IADAS and then the winners are determined by a number of international judges. The winner will also be determined in part by public vote.
Previous winners include Google, NASA, the New York Times, BBC, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, and several other global technology and internet giants.
“Claire Graves, president of the Webby Awards, told me that 13,000 actors, films and documentaries from 70 countries applied for the Web Awards this year, of which Rudaw won one,” Zalla said.
