Vânia Maia

It all began at the microphones of local radio stations, but Vânia Maia's journey as a professional journalist truly took off in the realm of press. Her articles have garnered more than a dozen distinctions, with six specifically recognized for her pandemic coverage. Notably, she received a Journalism Research Grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
In 2022, on the 30th anniversary of the Lorenzo Natali Prize, presented by the European Commission, Vânia Maia clinched victory in the Europe category. Her winning entry delved into the labour exploitation of migrants in the south of Portugal. Last year, she served as a jury member for the same prestigious award. In 2016, she had already contributed to the first phase of the Ibero-American Journalism Prize Gabriel García Márquez as part of the jury.
She’s an invited author for the book “Tudo Por Uma Boa História” (A Esfera dos Livros, 2017), which exposes the behind-the-scenes of reporting. Complementing her role as a journalist, she contributes to the training team at the Literacy for Media and Journalism Association. Currently, she is an active member of the Organizing Committee and the Executive Committee for the 5th Congress of Portuguese Journalists. She co-coordinates a group dedicated to addressing ethical, deontological, and labour-related issues within the profession.
Vânia Maia's reporting has taken her to diverse locations, from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to refugee camps in Uganda and areas devastated by cyclones in Mozambique. After more than a decade with the editorial team of VISÃO magazine, she transitioned to a role as a contributing journalist and a freelancer. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Investigative Journalism at Lusófona University of Lisbon, further deepening her commitment to the craft.