An online video project allowing "semi-urban" Indian women to voice their opinions on issues affecting them has won first prize in the annual Digital Heretics Award.

The award, which was launched last year, is run by the International Journalism Festival and recognises journalism that makes innovative use of the online medium.

The Wave Project, which stands for Women Aloud Videoblogging for Empowerment, will take home €5,000 for its first place.

The initiative calls itself a "first-of-a-kind citizen journalism project" and states that it aims to "share compelling videos that start conversations and builds bridges across global boundaries".

"WAVE’s philosophy is that young women in India need to be heard and encouraged to analyse the problems in their communities and go on to become leaders who provide effective solutions in order for society to become socially and economically empowered," reads a statement on the project's website.

Last year's first prize winner was the Berlin Project, a multimedia initiative to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Two further prizes of €2,500 were awarded to Goudou Goudou, a project about reconstuction following the Haiti earthquake, and L’Isola dei Cassintegrati, a site which began a Facebook group to chart unemployment protests in Sardinia.

The three winners were selected from a shortlist of six, which can be seen in full at this link.

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