Anna Lovat won The Harbinger Prize 2023

17 year-old Anna Lovat from Como Park Senior High School in Minnesota, United States, submitted for the Science category an incredibly researched, written and thought-through piece headlined Bugs Are Friends, Not Foes: A Lesson To Be Learned From The Historical Neglect of the United States Government in Regards to Human-Insect Symbiosis. [Read the award-winning essay]

Anna plans to study entomology (the science of insects) and mathematics in college and is committed to bridging the gap between scientists and farmers. Currently, she is an intern at the Snell-Rood lab at the University of Minnesota, where she is researching the effects of toxins and heavy metals on insects. Her favorite insects are wasps, and she is always willing to talk about them. When she isn’t talking, reading or writing about bugs, you can find her reading science fiction, doing her math homework, or poking various insects. She is also the designated spider relocator of her family.

Reporting

Chenxi Zhang, an 18 year-old from Singapore, won the Reporting category with a story about voices coming from just above the constantly rising waterline.

• 1st place: Chenxi Zgang, 18, Raffles Institution, Singapore, for Harmonising with the Pacific Voices.
• 2nd place: Erin Walshaw, 17, Prince of Wales Secondary School, British Columbia, Canada, for Medical Misogyny: The Reality of Systemic Ignorance on Menstrual Health.
• 3rd place: Siri Atluri, 17, Sacramento Country Day School, California, United States, for Houseless in California—Experiencing a Human Rights Crisis.

The jury for the Reporting category: BBC’s Kasia Madera (chair) with Harbingers’ Magazine’s Sofiya Radysh (Ukraine/UK), Jefferson He (Hong Kong/UK) and Sofia Vorobei (Ukraine/Spain).

Note from the jury: Although the submissions are not necessarily reporting pieces, the top four are the best of the submissions and as close to the category requirements that we received. The judges were impressed by the subjects chosen, the level of writing, research carried out and interviews conducted.

Essay on Economics

Arham Shah, a 17 year-old from New York, United States, won the Economics category by writing on how American youth are losing to online gambling apps.

• 1st place: Arham Shah, 17, Bergen County Academies, New York, United States, for The Dangerous Prevalence of Online Sports Gambling Amongst American Teenagers.
• 2nd place: Grace Minakowski, 17, Huntingtown High School, Maryland, United States, for The Choice Is Ours: How School Choice Will Save The K-12 System.
• 3rd place: Abigail Gonzalez Zavala, 17, New Bern High School, North Carolina, United States, for Unwritten Dreams.

The jury for the Essay on Economics category: AFP’s Paavan Mathema (chair), with Harbingers’ Magazine’s Timur Boranbayev (Kazakhstan/UK) and Nadia Diakowska (Poland).

Essay on Humanities

Christian Yeung, a 16 year-old from Hong Kong, won the Humanities category with an essay on how disgusting the food will be if we don’t do something about it.

• 1st place: Christian Yeung, 16, The Taft School, Hong Kong, for My 50th Birthday: A World Without Food.
• 2nd place: Chi Tanya, 15, James Ruse Agricultural High School, Australia, for The Indifinite Stay: A History of the Worst Holiday Destination.
• 3nd place: Sean Tan, 17, Eton College, England, United Kingdom, for Crime, but what punishment? How America’s domestic human rights record impacts its influence abroad.

Essay on Humanities was by far the most popular category. In addition to the abovementioned, the jury awarded three equal, special commendations. These go to:

• Nichole Jinn, 17, The Lawrenceville School, Singapore, for Ropes or Syringes: A Closer Look at the Death Penalty in Singapore
• Emily Dorman, 16, Orlando Science High School, Florida, United States, for Florida–Where Democracy Is Clouded, but Hopes Are High–the Story of the Storm
• Camilla Savelieva, 15, Sevenoaks School, United Kingdom, for How have doomsday cults used this question to keep members devoted, scared and subservient?

The jury for the Essay on Humanities category: Stirling University Professor Toni Haastrup (chair), and Harbingers’ Magazine’s Jinn Ong (Singapore/UK), Aleksandra Lasek (Poland) and Mykyta Yaremenko (Ukraine/Poland).

Essay on Science

Inika Singh, a 16 year-old from California, US, won the Science category by depicting a reality where computers are grown, not built.

• 1st place: Inika Singh, 16, California Crosspoint High School, California, USA, for From Games to Medicine – the Potential of Organoid Intelligence.
• 2nd place: Swara Kulkarni, 16, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Massachusetts, United States, for Glioblastoma – the cancer with a 90% mortality rate – and what’s being done about it.
• 3rd place: Ananya Prasanna, 16, Kendrick School, England, United Kingdom for The Silenced Children – The Fatal Flaws in the age of Thalidomide.

The jury for the Essay on Science category: Health Policy Watch’s Kerry Cullinan (chair), with Harbingers’ Magazine’s Grace Whitehouse (UK), Flora Lodd (Germany) and Sofia Radysh (Ukraine/UK).

Reportage Photography

Cressida Anness Lorenz, a 17 year-old from the United Kingdom, won the Reportage Photography category with pictures from a party 33 years in the future.

• 1st place: Cressida Anness Lorenz, 17, Channing School for Girls, England, United Kingdom, for My 50th Birthday can’t come sooner
• 2nd place: Hoyin Sau, 16, Hong Kong International School, Hong Kong, for Dust Unto Dust
• 3rd place: Shriya Kalluri, 17, Richard Montgomery High School, Maryland, United States for The growing presence of careless consumerism among young people

The jury for Reportage Photography: ABC News’ Kuba Kaminski (chair) with Harbingers’ Magazine’s Sofiya Tkachenko (Ukraine/Austria), Sofiya Suleimenova (Kazakhstan/Switzerland) and Isaaq Hussain (UK).

Shortlisted essays:

Reporting:

• Siri Atluri, United States
• Skyla Clarke, New Zealand
• Tengku Teja Sari, Malaysia
• Erin Walshaw, Canada
• Josselyn Wolf, United States
• Chenxi Zhang, Singapore

Essay on Economics:

• Teniola Tobun, United States
• Seraphine Lai, Singapore
• Grace Minakowski, United States
• Arham Shah, United States
• Laura Tokarska, Poland
• Abigail Gonzalez Zavala, United States

Essay on Humanities:

• Tania Chi, Australia\
• Emily Dorman, United States
• Desiree Ferrer, Philippines
• Soulava Gabr, United States
• Favour Abimifoluwa Ishola, United Kingdom
• Nichole Jin, Singapore
• Nicole Lau, Hong Kong
• Megha Ramachandran, United States
• Camilla Savelieva, United Kingdom
• Sean Tan, United Kingdom
• Adelheid Ye, New Zealand
• Christian Yeung, Hong Kong