Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to present RNG Awards on Sep 9, Mariane Pearl to deliver first memorial lecture

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who will be chief guest at the function, will present the awards for outstanding work done in 2011 and 2012. The winners have been chosen by an eminent jury from nominations in 15 categories.

Capping the event will be the First Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture by Mariane Pearl, an extraordinary individual and journalist herself. Her husband and Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was brutally killed by militants in Pakistan in 2002 — the execution last month of two American journalists in similar manner by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was a chilling reminder of the dangers reporters face in conflict zones.

Accepting the invitation to deliver the lecture, Pearl said: “Nowadays courage is associated with bravery, the pursuit of breaking news amid danger. But there is another type of courage exemplified by Shri Ramnath Goenka. One that doesn’t equate to recklessness. One that requires humility and a fierce determination to grow enough as an individual to redeem the world its complexity and thus speak the truth. It is an honour to speak in memory of his achievements.” The subject of her lecture couldn’t be more relevant: ‘Telling Truth in Time of War’.

An award-winning journalist and writer who works in French, English and Spanish, Pearl is the Managing Editor of Chime for Change, a global journalism platform which highlights powerful stories about girls and women, the potential of individuals to bring change.

“Mariane Pearl represents courage, determination and resolve, qualities that The Express Group recognises and strives to achieve in meeting the high standards set by its founder. Her acceptance of our invitation to deliver the First Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture is a fitting tribute to the memory of the man who remained fiercely independent, adversarial in his pursuit of excellence,” a spokesperson for the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Foundation said.

The awards pay tribute to journalists from print and broadcast who maintain the highest standards of their profession even in the face of political and economic pressures, who produce work that underline the values of good journalism — excellence and enterprise, courage and fairness.