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Remarkable stories, outstanding social reports – 2025 Hégető Honorka awards presented

11/24/25

The awards go to staff from 24.hu, 444, Blikk, Deutsche Welle, Partizán, RTL, and Telex

For the 21st time this year, the Hégető Honorka Foundation launched a competition, which received a record total of 100 video and photo submissions. The jury awarded four videos and three photographic works, while Yettel Hungary also presented a special award for a video entry. The 2025 awards were granted to journalists and photo reporters from 24.hu, 444, Blikk, Deutsche Welle, Partizán, RTL, and Telex.
 

In 2025, a total of 78 video and 22 photo entries were submitted to the competition established in memory of Honorka Hégető, a former editor-reporter at RTL who passed away in 2001. The jury awarded seven entries, which covered topics such as the crisis at the Parajd salt mine, the fate of deported Ukrainian children, and local economic decisions affecting communities, including mass layoffs at the Dunaújváros steelworks.

The jury presented three equal video awards, two photographic recognitions, and one special photography award. This year, the “Best First-Time Entrant” award went to a video report, while Yettel Hungary presented a special award for another video entry.

This year's recipients of Hégető Awards

Vince Földiák, Levente Kósa and Danijar Bíró, staff members of Partizán, received the Hégető Honorka Award for three separate report series. Their reports, ranging from the closure of the cheese plant in Répcelak to oil extraction in South Zselic and mass layoffs at the Danube steelworks, illustrate how economic decisions affect local communities, highlighting the human stories, hopes, and losses behind the numbers.

Dr. Lili Takács, editor-reporter at 444, received the award for drawing attention to the fate of deported Ukrainian children. In January 2025, Lili Takács and Balázs Kristóf traveled to Ukraine, interviewing young people who had been forcibly taken to Russian camps and visiting a children’s home in Kherson where locals had successfully hidden the children during the occupation. Their report highlights the impact of these deportations on the children’s identities and on community life.

Nóra Beck, editor-reporter at RTL programme Házon kívül, received the Hégető Honorka Award for her work exposing interconnected, systemic problems. Her report series highlights the situation of the most vulnerable children and their families: homeless families living in the Rákosrendező forest without heating, water, or electricity, supported only by Father András Antal; the story of Zsolt, an abused young man forced into committing murder; and the most serious abuses within the child protection system, including sexual abuse in juvenile institutions and physical and psychological mistreatment in the reception home in Szolnok. Nóra Beck’s reports reveal how the most vulnerable remain without systemic support and identify the shortcomings in providing humane, responsible protection.

Blikk staff members Attila Végh, Barnabás Tóth-Máté, and Gábor Fuszek received this year’s “Best First-Time Entrant” award for their report on the crisis at the Parajd salt mine. Their work revealed how the mine’s defenses collapsed due to flooding from the Korond stream and highlighted the efforts of local residents to save the underground operations.

This year, the competition presented two photography awards. One went to Orsolya Ajpek, photo-reporter at Telex, who portrayed the lives of Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front through the daily routines at a rehabilitation center in Kyiv. Her report vividly depicts the challenges of reintegration into society and the invisible traumas caused by PTSD, depression, and grief.

The other award went to Bálint Szajki, photo-reporter at 24.hu, who documented the daily life and rituals of the Hungarian spiritual shamanist community “Ősök Útja Szellemi Ösvény” (Ancestors’ Path Spiritual Trail). His series vividly portrays the members’ spiritual journey, their connection to nature and ancestral spirits, and inner healing through ancient ceremonies and trance experiences, while highlighting the personal experiences behind the prejudices surrounding such communities.

This year, the jury also presented a special photography award, which went to Gábor Bankó, staff member at 444. His series depicts the daily life at a stabilization point in Kharkiv. The images, taken just a few kilometers from the front line, reveal the initial care of injured soldiers and the quiet heroism of the staff working there.

This year’s Yettel special award went to Laura Szaplonczai, staff member of Deutsche Welle’s Hungarian channel, who created the winning report together with Olivér Gudman and Dóra Diseri. The short film about the Gilvánfa Tanoda mentoring home for disadvantaged children highlights the educational achievements of a disadvantaged yet well-functioning community.  The jury evaluating the 2025 submissions and presenting the awards at RTL Liget included the following members:

  • Éva Keleti, Kossuth and Balázs Béla  Award-winning photographer
  • Balázs Weyer chairman of the foundation jury, journalist, ethnomusicologist, founder and former editor-in-chief of Media Forum Association
  • Antónia Mészáros, Executive Director of UNICEF Hungary, former presenter and documentary journalist
  • Krisztina Máté, TV journalist, presenter, producer and associate professor,
  • Szilvia Mucsy, photographer, founder-director of Budapest Photo Festival, leader of the RANDOM contemporary photography collective

The winning videos can be viewed on the following websites:

Sponsors of the award: RTL Hungary, Yettel Hungary, the Hégető family
The Hégető Honorka Award was designed by artist Erzsébet Szilágyi.