We, the permanent members of the International Shifa Gardi Award Committee, have decided to confer the 2026 Shifa Gardi Award upon Orla Guerin, senior international correspondent for the BBC after extensive review of the work of several outstanding candidates. This Award recognises her exceptional work in covering wars and the plight of civilians fleeing conflict, including in Syria and Rojava.
Orla Guerin has reported from numerous conflict zones, including in Kosovo, events in Eastern Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war against the Islamic State by the International Coalition and the Peshmerga forces, the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, and the war carried out by the Syrian Arab Army against the Syrian Democratic Forces. In all these conflicts, she has strived, to bear witness to events and to highlight the stories of civilians caught up in these conflicts. It is for this commitment that she deserves this recognition.
Orla Guerin said the following regarding covering the war against ISIS and remembering Shifa Gardi: “Undoubtedly Shifa knew the risks, when she was reporting on the offensive against the so-called Islamic State in 2016 and 2017. She went anyway presenting a daily program. That was a story I also covered, and I remember the reverberations of shock and loss when Shifa was killed. Though we had not met, I thought of her often as I followed her footsteps towards Mosul.”
Unfortunately, the world remains too unsafe for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 129 reporters were killed and 330 were detained in 2025. The continuation of conflicts worldwide coupled with authorities’ unwillingness to allow reporters unfettered access, continues to place journalists in immense danger.
Shifa Gardi paid particular attention to the plight of ordinary people and civilians caught up in conflict and it was for this reason, that she was so respected and loved by the people. The Award was established in 2017 in Shifa Gardi’s memory and will continue to honour the bravery and truthfulness of female journalists worldwide.
Shifa Gardi Award Committee
25 February 2026