Journalist of the Year Award
One Young World’s annual Journalist of the Year Award honours three of the most respected young journalists from around the world, whose courage and commitment to their profession have identified them as outstanding leaders in their field. The award will be presented by legendary South African journalist Ashraf Garder.
Speakers
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Salma NiaziFounder and Editor-in-Chief of the Afghan TimesSalma Niazi
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Afghan Times
Salma Niazi is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Afghan Times, an independent media outlet amplifying the voices of Afghan women. Based in Dublin, Ireland since January 2024, Salma continues her work in exile after being forced to flee Afghanistan in February 2022 following the Taliban's return to power. She remained in hiding in Pakistan for nearly two years before resettling in Ireland. Despite these challenges, Salma has fearlessly sustained The Afghan Times, working with a courageous team of journalists and photographers inside Afghanistan who operate in secrecy. In April 2024, she launched the Open Mic Podcast, a groundbreaking platform where over 50 young Afghan women have shared personal stories of resilience. She also spearheaded two powerful magazine editions: “Women and Food Insecurity in Afghanistan” (October 2024, World Food Day) and “Locked Room: Afghan Women’s Voices” (March 2025, International Women’s Day). Salma has trained a network of eight youth reporters and photographers, and remains connected to over 100 young women contributors across the country. Her work continues to inspire a new generation of Afghan journalists, offering a lifeline for truth, resistance, and women's voices under repression.
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Ashraf GardaFounder, Champion South AfricaAshraf Garda
Counsellor
Founder, Champion South Africa
Ashraf Garda is the Conversation Architect - he uses the art of story telling and asking the questions that matter to break down concepts and to build consequential impactful conversations He is an authoritative talk show, a lengaging Programme Director and MC as well as an impactful keynote speaker and also a host on multiple digital platforms It is a measure of Ashraf’s national stature that he was appointed to serve his country as the MC for the opening day of the BRICS Summit of both 2023 and 2018 Ashraf’s purpose is to champion people because “champion people build champion nations”. Understandable then that he is at the Centre of conversations to find and embrace South Africa’s national purpose. The Champion South Africa project of which he serves a Chief Champion Spotter is a movement for change with the end goal to inspire the building of South Africa into a champion Nation. He is a member of the prestigious Council of Champions that forms part of the Centre for Social Justice chaired by Prof Thuli Madonsela , South Africa’s former Public Protector and he also serves on the judging panel for the annual Social Justice Champion Awards In 2023 he was chosen by the Treeshake movement as one of their 27 Changemakers working towards a more United nation . He is the host of The National Pulse on SAfm Radio in South Africa - a daily talk show between 3-6pm that connects him and his audience to the pulse of the nation. His level of versatility is manifested in his newly launched company Local Global Productions, a business that provides solutions in the fields of public speaking, contact creation, content sponsorship, social media sponsorship, event management , podcasting media training as well as hosting of moderating masterclasses .
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Nilesh ChristopherJournalistNilesh Christopher
Journalist
Nilesh Christopher is a journalist reporting on the societal impacts of technology and AI— how it empowers, harms, and reshapes communities. Since 2020, he has consistently led the way in writing about AI’s misuse by the powerful: from exposing the first-ever use of deepfakes in an Indian election to investigating a high-profile politician who dismissed incriminating audio as a deepfake. When local institutions declined to assist, he partnered with forensic experts in the U.S. to investigate the clip, revealing a growing phenomenon called the “liar’s dividend.” His reporting drew international attention to this tactic, cited in U.S. Senate testimony and policy discussions on AI transparency, and spotlighted the need for AI detection tools to be made accessible to under-resourced newsrooms in the Global South. In 2024, Nilesh's election coverage revealed how Indian political parties used synthetic voices and AI avatars for voter outreach— not just to deceive, but to reinforce beliefs. Besides politics, his reporting has also informed readers about AI’s impact on labor, revealed biases in AI image generators, and featured in exhibitions to raise public awareness. In 2019, his exposé on TikTok's role in amplifying caste-based violence in India led the platform to change their community guidelines. Nilesh is a 2025 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. His stories have been published in WIRED, The Atlantic, the BBC, and Rest of World. His body of work has earned him numerous honors, including SOPA, SAJA, SABEW, and India’s highest journalism honor, the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
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Leandro Amaya CamachoJournalist and EditorLeandro Amaya Camacho
Journalist and Editor
Leandro Amaya Camacho is a Peruvian journalist, descendant of the pre-Columbian Sechura culture. He specializes in the Amazon, Indigenous rights, the environment, oceans and tracing illegal economies. His work is known for a systemic and human-centered approach that seeks to understand territories from within in order to tell powerful and transformative stories. His reporting has had a direct impact on the communities portrayed: several Indigenous leaders featured in his stories gained national visibility and were granted protection by the Peruvian state. His accolades include the 2020 Young Journalist Award (Thomson Foundation and the Foreign Press Association, London) for two high-impact investigations: one uncovering irregular government negotiations for offshore oil drilling in northern Peru, and another exposing the contamination of children with heavy metals in Cerro de Pasco. In 2024, he received the Inter American Press Association’s (SIP) Excellence in Journalism Award (Environment category) for his coverage of Indigenous rights and environmental defenders in the Peruvian Amazon, and was a finalist for the IPYS National Grand Prize for Journalism for his reporting on the murders of environmental defenders in Peru — among other national distinctions. Beyond his investigative work, he has mentored young journalists in workshops on investigative and environmental journalism, and has promoted community journalism networks in the Amazon and northern coast. He has spoken at conferences in Rio de Janeiro, Medellín, Lima, and other cities, sharing insights on traceability, criminal structures, and the role of independent journalism in defending democracy and protecting territories.