The Harbingers’ Project is a team of award-winning journalists, editors, broadcasters, creatives, and professionals who have made it their mission to guide the next generation in their first professional space: the editorial of Harbingers’ Magazine.
harbinger | noun
har·bin·ger | \ˈhär-bən-jər\
1. one that initiates a major change: a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology; pioneer.
2. something that foreshadows a future event : something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come.
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These are the winners of The Harbinger Prize 2025!
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The Harbingers’ Project team and the editorial board of Harbingers’ Magazine are proud and thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s edition of The Harbinger Prize!
First, our warmest congratulations to 16-year-old Stephanie Kwok from Hong Kong for winning the overall prize. Her award is a scholarship for a one-year journalism internship with Harbingers’ plus an international reporting trip!
Inspired by the prompt ‘You in Us’, Stephanie wrote an evocative piece entitled Observations on the Muslim experience in Asia – a thought-provoking reflection on the importance of embracing cultures other than your own, and how this benefits society as a whole. It paid tribute to immigrants and the processes of integration and assimilation, which are of paramount importance in our globalised world.
Stephany Kwok is the overall winner of The Harbinger Prize 2025!
Choosing from the 14-strong shortlist was not an easy decision since the standard of entries this year was so high – higher than our expectations, in fact. That said, we are excited to announce the six other winners, who each get a scholarship for a one-year journalism internship with us. Welcome to our global editorial team!
Congratulations also to:
Jennie Yao, 17, Canada – for Digitally numb: When overexposure to tragedy makes us feel nothing. This was a profound and extremely well-written analysis of our dependence on social media, which was also truly moving and eye-opening.
Matthew Ng, 16, Hong Kong – for Is AI eroding the humanities – and humanity itself? This piece revealed so much of Matthew’s enthusiastic personality and his interest in preserving the humanities as a tool to keep us present, connected and inspired.
Mutaz Sameh, 17, Egypt/Saudi Arabia – for The noisy tradition of Suboo: An echo through time. In his piece, Mutaz honoured a tradition unique to his culture while recognising how much he still doesn’t know about the amalgamation of various cultures that lie behind it. It was well written and well researched, with a charming voice.
Ryleigh Lemsic, 17, Philippines – for Buried by greed: Illegal mining and the lack of green policy-making in the Philippines. With this entry, Ryleigh proved to be full of confidence and passion, and a natural journalist. She researched a controversial topic relevant to the prompt and completely made it her own.
Siya Shah, 17, Canada– for Adolescence: Shining a light on the false sense of (cyber)security. Siya wrote with a very strong voice and gave us an well-informed take on how AI and technology in general are affecting her generation. She really nailed it!
Viola Papp, 17, Hungary – for Fighting in the war against life. This took us by surprise: it was refreshing to read a discussion on deforestation – a well-known topic within conversations on sustainability – without feeling disengaged. Her perspective, framed through ecofeminism, was profoundly illuminating.
Awards and commendations
The competition was exceptionally close, and we would like to commend two other noteworthy entrants, who also wrote from the heart: Saanvi Akula (17, United Kingdom) for Digital symbiosis: Living with the machine, and Malena Troncoso Sarni (17, Argentina) for Gen Z – defined by adaptability. We are pleased to offer each of them a three-month scholarship as writers for Harbingers’ Magazine.
Congratulations again to all this year’s winners! You will join theteam of writers on Harbingers’ Magazine, where you will have the opportunity to shape editorial and content decisions while receiving mentorship and guidance from experienced professionalsin the field.
As the overall winner, Stephanie also gets to plan a reporting trip in 2026 to cover events first-hand. Last year’s overall winner, Reva Sobti from California, embarked on a remarkable journey to Japan in August with instructors from the Oxford School for the Future of Journalism. She participated in our2025 Japan Newsroom, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
We can’t wait to see where Stephanie’s pin is going to land on the world map!
We would also like to express our gratitude to all the participants. It was a pleasure to get to know your perspectives.
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