The 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism has been awarded to Lost in Europe for its groundbreaking investigation into the disappearance of over
50,000 unaccompanied child migrants.
The investigation, carried out by a coalition of media outlets from Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and the UK, revealed that at least 51,433 unaccompanied child migrants went missing after arriving in Europe between 2021 and 2023.
During the award ceremony, held at the European Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Galizia Press Room in Strasbourg, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Vice-President Pina Picierno, and members of the independent jury were present. President Metsola emphasized the ongoing significance of Daphne Caruana Galizia's legacy, stating, "Her fight for justice and truth continues through the work of journalists who refuse to be silenced. Press freedom is non-negotiable."
Between May 3 and July 31, 2024, hundreds of journalists from across the EU submitted their work for consideration. Out of 318 entries, 13 were shortlisted before the Lost in Europe investigation was selected as the winner.
About the Winning Investigation
The Lost in Europe investigation uncovered shocking figures: since 2021, nearly 47 migrant children have disappeared daily after arriving in Europe. The data, collected from 31 European countries, including Austria, Germany, and Italy, reveals tens of thousands of missing children, with inconsistent documentation and poor data collection contributing to underreporting.
This investigation follows Lost in Europe's previous research in 2021, which exposed the disappearance of over 18,000 migrant children in Europe between 2018 and 2020. Experts, such as Aagje Ieven, Secretary General of Missing Children Europe, suggest the current figures may represent just the "tip of the iceberg," as many fear these missing children are falling victim to human trafficking and modern slavery.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving De Standaard (Belgium), Small Stream Media (the Netherlands), RBB (Germany), Knack (Belgium), ANSA (Italy), Domani (Italy), CNN (UK/US), VRT (Belgium), Εfimerida ton Syntakton (Greece), The Journal (Ireland), Tagesschau (Germany), and NRC (the Netherlands).
About the Prize
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize, established in December 2019 by the European Parliament, honors the legacy of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in a 2017 car bombing. The prize recognizes outstanding journalism that defends the core principles of the European Union, including human dignity, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
The competition is open to professional journalists and teams from all EU member states, with the aim of highlighting the importance of journalism in safeguarding democratic values. The prize includes a €20,000 award, underscoring the European Parliament’s commitment to supporting investigative journalism and a free press.