(BANGLADESH, December 15, 2021)—Fortify Rights and Doha Debates won a 2021 Communitas Award for a joint project training and supporting three young Rohingya-refugee photographers in Bangladesh. The Communitas Award acknowledges “companies, organizations, and individuals who go beyond rhetoric” to help “the less fortunate in their communities.”
Fortify Rights trains and supports three Rohingya “Media Fellows” on conducting interviews and creating character portraits for photography and films, and with Doha Debates, equips the Media Fellows to share their work with wider audiences, enabling them to share their own stories. The joint project between the Media Fellows, Fortify Rights, and Doha Debates was a finalist for the 2019 Shorty Awards and won a Shorty Award in 2020.
This 23-minute documentary film, EXODUS, delves into the lives of the Media Fellows as they survive the Rohingya genocide. You can also follow the Media Fellows’ work on Instagram: @azimulhass, @dilkayas, and @omalkha.