National Photojournalism Award: Outstanding Photojournalists from 8 Categories and 7 Provinces Honored
Kathmandu — The 5th National Photojournalism Award 2025, organized by the National Forum of Photojournalists (NFPJ) Nepal, was successfully held in a grand ceremony. The event, hosted in Lalitpur on Saturday, honored outstanding photojournalists across eight different categories in the presence of the Chief Guest, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, and the Special Guest, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka.
The NFPJ had opened nominations across various categories and selected winners from a pool of five nominees per category.
Photojournalists delivering outstanding work were recognized during the ceremony. Here are the major awards:
Nepal Telecom Daily Life Photojournalism Award: Dipendra Dhungana (Naya Patrika)
Panchakanya Group Women Photojournalism Award: Kavita Thapa (Gorkhapatra Daily)
Surya Jyoti Life Insurance Political Photojournalism Award: Skanda Gautam (The Himalayan Times)
Dish Home Internet Sports Photojournalism Award: Udipt Singh Chhetry
Agriculture Development Bank Independent Photojournalism Award: Rajib Hengaju (Nepal Army Photojournalist)
Adventure Outdoor Tourism and Culture Photojournalism Award: Manoj Ratna Shahi (Gorkhapatra Online)
Rastriya Banijya Bank Entertainment Photojournalism Award: Abhishek Maharjan (Annapurna Post)
Global IME Bank Economic Photojournalism Award: Chandra Bahadur Ale (Online Khabar.com)
Outstanding photojournalists from each province were also honored:
Koshi Province: Sujan Bajracharya (RSS Sankhuwasabha)
Madhesh Province: Ram Sarraf (Yatra Daily)
Bagmati Province: Navin Paudel (RSS)
Gandaki Province: Prem Thapa (Parichaya.com)
Lumbini Province: Madhav Prasad Aryal (Kantipur Daily)
Karnali Province: Amrit Kumar Budhathoki (Himalaya TV)
Sudurpashchim Province: Lokesh Saud
In recognition of his life long contribution to photojournalism, veteran photojournalist Devendra Man Singh was honored with the Life time Achievement Award. In addition, late NFPJ lifetime member Chungba Sherpa was posthumously recognized with a special honor.
Social workers and well-wishers who contributed to the National Photojournalists’ Emergency Relief Fund were also awarded certificates of appreciation.
The award selection committee for the 5th National Photojournalism Award 2025 was chaired by President Pradip Raj Onta, and included senior photojournalist Shailendra Kharel, senior manager at Nepal Tourism Board Surya Thapaliya, Branding and Communications Head at Surya Jyoti Life Insurance Meghendra Prakash Giri, head of the Architecture and Creative Arts Department of Pragya Sourganga Darshandhari, and deputy editor of Desh Sanchar Manoj Dahal.
In his address, Chief Guest Speaker Ghimire highlighted that photojournalism is a vital pillar of a democratic society, emphasizing that photojournalists reflect the true mirror of the nation. He stated that photojournalism has made significant contributions not just to democracy but to strengthening democratic governance. Ghimire acknowledged the role of photojournalists in unveiling the truth behind thousands of misleading narratives and emphasized that photojournalism continues to guide Nepal’s journey from past to future. Reflecting on the recent death of journalist Suresh Rajak, he noted the risks and challenges faced by photojournalists and assured the profession’s challenges would be addressed.
Special Guest, Minister Deepak Khadka, praised photojournalists for their commitment to truth even under difficult circumstances. He stressed that while words can be manipulated, images captured by photojournalists have the power to counter propaganda and reveal the unbiased truth. Minister Khadka described photojournalism as a discipline that delivers audio-visual information at great personal risk and congratulated today’s awardees for inspiring the next generation of photojournalists.
