The awards are held every second year as part of INSP’s annual conference. This year, the ceremony will take place in Munich on 1st August, where winners in nine awards categories will be presented with hand-made made awards created by Glasgow Wood Recycling – a social enterprise that offers volunteering and training as a way of tackling poverty and social exclusion.
This year, for the first time, two new awards categories will also recognise street papers for their effectiveness as social enterprises and their work in supporting homeless people.
This year's call for entries received a record number of entries – 191 in total, from 51 different street papers in 25 countries. The range of finalists are a demonstration of the diversity of the global street paper network:
Best Feature Story – Writing for social impact
- 'Emergency aid in the middle of nowhere' by Florian Blumer, Surprise (Switzerland)
- 'When Systems Offend' by Lindsey Krinks, The Contributor (USA)
- 'Babes in barbarians’ hands' by Michelle Nöthling, The Big Issue South Africa
- 'Condemned at birth' by Jameson Chauluka, The Big Issue Malawi
- 'Storm about the Shelters' by Ryan Gallagher, The Big Issue in the North (UK)
Best Cover – Making a statement on the street
- 'Next Stop Referendum—Scotland’s Road to Independenc'e by Andreas Böhm & Dr. Frieder Schwitzgebel, Die Jerusalëmmer (Germany)
- 'The Standl's by Niko Schmid-Burgk, BISS (Germany)
- 'Face to Face' by Lisa Mansfield, The Big Issue Australia
- 'Water. Will there be enough for everyone?' by Branko Bobic, LICEULICE (Serbia)
- 'The Bitterest Pill' by Kevin Gopal (editor) & Mark Wheeler (designer), The Big Issue in the North (UK)
Best Interview – A spotlight on change-makers
- 'My last drink with Shane MacGowan' by Asle Toje, =Norge (Norway)
- 'Mayoral Candidate Conversations' by Andrew Krinks, The Contributor (USA)
- 'Fighting the Disease' by Sean Condon, Megaphone (Canada)
- '‘Mother’, the other word for ‘love’' by Dragana Nikoletic, LICEULICE (Serbia)
- 'Everyone deserves a second chance' by Christina Bacher, Draussenseiter (Germany)
Best Photograph – Evoking deeper perspectives on poverty and injustice
- 'In the Bathtub' by Helga C. Theilgaard, Hus Forbi (Denmark)
- 'The war on hot sand' by Dimitri Koutsomytis, =Norge (Norway)
- ‘Brosteinsball’ by Mari Vold, Sorgenfri (Norway)
- 'Happiness is all around us' by Томислав Георгиев, Lice v lice (Macedonia)
- 'Yemen's Unseen' by Ziryab Al-Ghabri, The Big Issue South Africa
Best Vendor Essay – A fresh perspective from the street
- 'Things can change' by Neal McLaurin, One Step Away (USA)
- 'Our daily bread' by Andrea Hoschek, Apropos (Austria)
- 'How Facebook ruined my life' by Renee Sawyer, The Contributor (USA)
- 'Views From My Pitch' by Mariann Biron, The Big Issue Australia
- 'Knoken’s Christmas' by ‘Knoken’ (The Knuckle), Megafon (Norway)
Best Design – Effecting change through visual content
- 'Hot!' by Berhnhard Kerbl & Tina Knoll (Erdgeschoss GmbH), Megaphon (Austria)
- 'Christmas book 2012' by Dimitri Koutsomytis, Anlov Peter Mathiesen and Svein Johan Reisang, =Norge (Norway)
- '2012 Collector's Edition' by Dirk Meerkotter, The Big Issue South Africa
- 'The Diamond Jubilee Edition' by Mark Neil / The Big Issue UK design team, The Big Issue UK
- '2012 Christmas Edition' by Berit Burmester, Megafon (Norway)
Social Development Award – Innovation in vendor support
* Special mentions in this category go to BISS and Nota Bene.
Social Enterprise Award – Business success for social good
Special Award for External Press – Advocating for the needs and rights of homeless people
- 'Crazy but free!' by Alderon Costa, O Trecheiro (Brazil)
- 'Special Report – Homeless Banker hits rock bottom' by Jonathan Owen, The Independent on Sunday (UK)
- 'Ivorian children find temporary homes in Liberia refugee camp' by Liz Ford, Guardian Global Development (UK)
- Musicals for the homeless: Showtime in the Las Vegas ghetto by Marc Pitzke, Spiegel Online (Germany)
Entries were shortlisted by expert panels of journalists, academics, writers, designers and photographers. A high-profile panel of media and publishing experts, led by INSP’s Honorary President David Schlesinger, then selected winners in the seven editorial categories.
The judging of the ‘Social Enterprise’ and ‘Social Development’ categories was supported by PwC - a leading supporter of social enterprise in the UK.
INSP Executive Director Lisa Maclean said: “The International Street Paper Awards are a real celebration of the diversity of our member street papers around the world. Street paper editors, journalists, designers and photographers work hard every day to report on important issues and create first-class magazines and newspapers for their vendors to sell. It’s great to have the opportunity to celebrate and award these efforts and remind the world what street papers are there to do.
“This year, we are honoured to have had the support of an incredible panel of expert judges, who have dedicated many hours to reading entries and debating and selecting finalists and winners. We are very grateful for their support and expertise."
The winners will be announced by press release immediately after the awards ceremony.
