Some 21 entries were evaluated for the Hungarian round of the regional competition by an independent local jury consisting of Ilona Kocsi (president of the National Association of Hungarian Journalists), Enikő Vass (a former Siemens Media Award winner) and Márk Arató (head of communications at Siemens Zrt.)

Content published between April 1, 2023, and April 5, 2024, demonstrating how technologies can advance sustainability, the economy, or other aspects of society, were eligible for submission. Areas taken into consideration by the jury included the relevance, novelty, style, and the added value of the author to the topic.

In addition to Hungary, other regional countries competing for the Siemens Media Award 2024 are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, with five winners selected in each nation. The theme of this year’s competition was “Technology with Purpose.”

The first place entry for Hungary went to Judit Kis for her article “They Don’t Try, They Dive in and get it Done,” which discusses the innovation of refillable aerosol deodorants. The piece appeared in the June 2023 issue of Forbes Hungary.

The other two top contestants were Virág Zákányi, recognized for her article “Therapy in VR Glasses,” published on the GyártásTrend news site in October 2023, and Brigitta Kocsis-M., who was awarded for her report “Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgical Procedures,” aired on March 18, 2024, in an episode of Novum TV. All three received a hotel stay for two as part of their prize.

Special Awards

Special awards were presented to Enikő Bohák for her editorial “How Food Waste is Recycled: Dutch Bread in Circulation” (in the Zöld Ipar Magazin news site in August 2023) and István Sarusi for his article “Making the Invisible Visible,” published in March 2024 on the National Geographic’s online platform.

Eszter Bakondi-Kiss, communications expert at Siemens Zrt., explained that the Siemens Media Award’s tradition goes back roughly 10 years in Hungary, although there was a three-year period from 2019 when it wasn’t presented until the program was relaunched in 2023.

“As the leader in the field of innovation, we aim to promote those who create outstanding media content on the importance of technology in everyday life and to make understandable to the general population how the technology advancements help society, the economy, and sustainability for the better,” Bakondi-Kiss tells the Budapest Business Journal.

The award has gained in popularity since it was relaunched. In 2023, it was open to seven CEE states, which rose to nine this time.

“We plan to continue this tradition and encourage more journalists to create meaningful pieces showcasing how digital technologies can transform everyday life for the better,” Bakondi-Kiss adds.

The five winning entries qualify for the Siemens regional round, where they will compete against the finalists from the eight other participating countries. An international jury will pick five winners to contest the grand final, hosted in Vienna. The champion will be chosen at the Concordia Ball, with the prize including a trip to the Salzburg Festival in Austria for the winner and their partner.

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of May 6, 2024.