WHIPPANY, N.J., Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer recognized two exceptional foreign journalists with scholarship awards at the recent Association of Foreign Correspondents in the USA (AFC-USA) Annual Awards Ceremony, held at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute of Hunter College in New York City.

Bayer's Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Raymond F. Kerins, Jr., presented the scholarships to the journalists, who were selected independently by the educational board members of the AFC-USA. The two distinguished AFC Scholarship Awardees are Natalia Kniazhevich, Russian financial journalist and master's student at New York University, and Priyanka Vora, an Indian journalist whose health reporting in rural areas of India and Africa won awards from the International Center for Journalists and the Mumbai Press Club.

"Bayer is a proud supporter of the Association of Foreign Correspondents in the United States of America, and we fully embrace this organization's mission to provide opportunity here in the States for journalists who are from outside this great country," Kerins said in remarks during the ceremony.

"We at Bayer believe in a free and independent press. Freedom of the press is one of the hallmarks of our democracy – a concept rooted in the very first amendment of our Constitution. Any threat to the freedom of the press is a threat to our existence as a democracy," he added.

In her acceptance speech, scholarship recipient Kniazhevich thanked Bayer for its support, adding that such programs make it possible for foreign journalists like herself to expand their horizons and learn from their experiences in news organizations in the U.S.

"It is a great pleasure for me to receive this award and this scholarship," Kniazhevich said. "It's so important that Bayer, as one of the largest international companies, supports foreign journalists."

Scholarship recipient Vora thanked Bayer and the AFC-USA for their support, noting from her own experience the importance of such measures to make important journalism financially sustainable.

"This year in June, 16 of my colleagues were laid off," Vora said. "They were excellent reporters, very talented, my close friends, and I could have been one of them. The reason cited was that economics were not in their favor – and this is exactly what is frustrating."

AFC-USA Chairwoman Nancy Prager-Kamel thanked both Bayer and Kerins for the company's strong advocacy and for "their accelerated support for a free and informed press with the goal of putting education in the epicenter of journalism."

Thanos Dimadis, President of AFC-USA, also thanked Bayer and the organization's other supporters "not only for their generous contributions that allow our organization to operate, but most importantly because their contributions are unconditional, allowing and ensuring the independence of our organization."

During his remarks, Dimadis also highlighted that donations from Bayer and other private sector supporters are entirely unrestricted, no-strings-attached contributions to AFC-USA and the journalists it supports.

During the Annual Awards Ceremony, Dimadis and Daniel Klaidman, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! News, presented an honorary award to former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson in recognition of his contributions to the public service. Penny Manis, Senior Director of Business Programming for CNN International, presented an annual honorary award to Valeria Robecco, President of the United Nations Correspondents Association, in recognition of her contributions to the excellence of the foreign press reporting. In addition, Susan Modaress, Vice President of the AFC-USA, presented an honorary award to Suzanne Adams, Honorary Executive Advisor of the AFC-USA and wife of Maurice Adams, former President of the Foreign Press Association, in recognition of her lifetime services in support of the foreign correspondents' community.

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.us.

About AFC-USA

The original Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (1918-1939) was founded in New York by foreign media representatives in the United States to protect the independence of the press across the globe. The Association of Foreign Correspondents in the United States (AFC United States) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization founded in 2019 and inspired by the principles of the original organization, with an expanded mandate and mission to reflect the modern needs of the international journalists in the United States and to be an authentic voice of their representation, addressing and equipping them with greater access to informational resources to better serve their profession in the country. Mrs. Nancy Prager-Kamel is Chairwoman for educational programs of the AFC-USA. Prager-Kamel is a strategic advisor at the UN and works with the U.S. government on international issues and human rights, with a special dedication and expertise on Anti-Trafficking. In recent years, Prager-Kamel has served as Chair of Board of Governors for the Foreign Press Foundation and U.S. National Commissioner for UNESCO. She has also served on the Vital Voices Global Partnership Board of Directors and acted as its Main UN Representative. Thanos Dimadis is President of the AFC-USA. As a foreign correspondent in Washington D.C. and Brussels, Dimadis secured several exclusive interviews with prominent public figures and top-ranking executives at the International Monetary Fund and was the producer and presenter of the most viewed TV documentary about the Eurozone crisis aired in Greece ("Three years - Three Memorandums"). He also wrote a book in Greek documenting his coverage of the Eurozone crisis, In the Daedalus of the Eurozone Crisis.
Twitter: @AFCUnitedStates
Instagram: @ForeignCorrespondentsUSA
Website: ForeignPressCorrespondents.org

Contacts:

Bayer US: 
Dan Childs, phone +1 973.437.0809
Email: daniel.childs@bayer.com

Association of Foreign Correspondents in the USA:  
Susan Modaress, Vice President
Alan Herrera, General Secretary
Email: Contact@ForeignPressCorrespondents.org
Website: ForeignPressCorrespondents.org

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

SOURCE Bayer

Related Links

http://www.bayer.us