ITK Award for Excellence in Arctic Journalism * First Recipient: Mr. Peter Mansbridge

December 11, 2009 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Inuit leader Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is pleased to announce the recipient of the first ITK Award for Excellence in Arctic Journalism.

 

Peter Mansbridge OC,  was selected as the first recipient of the ITK Award for his series of CBC Road Stories reports broadcast  in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 Our Changing Arctic was broadcast from the Louis St. Laurent. In 2007 two Road Stories were broadcast. Arctic Nights was broadcast from the Amundsen, and subsequently The Big Melt chronicled the climate change story from the perspective of Inuit living on Baffin Island in Nunavut. These reports documented the scientific work being done in the Arctic to address climate change, and focussed the eyes of Canadians on the Arctic.

 

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that Mr. Peter Mansbridge, host of CBC Television’s The National will be the first recipient of this award,” stated Mary Simon. “All Canadians know Peter as anchor of The National. In creating an award for Arctic Journalism our Board of Directors were unanimous in naming Peter Mansbridge as the first recipient. I am looking forward to giving  him his award next January in Ottawa. He has demonstrated understanding of the complex issues in the Canadian Arctic, and how the Inuit of Canada are central to the story of the Arctic, both in an historic and contemporary sense.

 

The award will be given on January 14, 2010 during the commencement of events of ITK’s 2010 Year of the Inuit. “A Taste of the Arctic - A Celebration of Inuit Culture” is a fundraising event for the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation. It will be held at the National Gallery of Canada.

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