March 24, 2025 – Today, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), along with family and friends of late Swedish journalist Kim Wall, announced the 2025 Kim Wall Memorial Fund (KWMF) grantees. This year’s recipients are Raquel Carvalho (Portugal) and Diana Kruzman (United States), who were chosen to pursue stories akin to Wall’s brand of journalism.
During a time when press freedom is being threatened globally, the appetite for Wall’s type of reporting only grows: The IWMF received 151 submissions from 48 countries this year – the highest number of applications the fund has received since its inception in 2018.
“Kim’s reporting was fearless – it was bold, divergent and curious, and a stark example of reporting that would otherwise go untold,” said IWMF Executive Director Elisa Lees Muñoz. “We need to fund and propel voices like Kim’s right now to ensure the public hears truths from all corners of the world that are increasingly being silenced.”
The 2025 KWMF grantees were selected for their commitment to reporting on lesser- known communities. Carvalho, a Portuguese multimedia and print journalist based in Hong Kong, focuses on migration, labor, human trafficking, and women’s rights. Her project will detail the wrongful dismissal and death of women domestic workers in Asia’s wealthiest cities.
“It is particularly meaningful to engage in work connected to Kim, who shared a passion for social justice and love of underreported stories,” said Carvalho, a contributor to Al Jazeera and former Asia Correspondent at the South China Morning Post. She continued: “One of the main goals of this reporting project is to amplify the voice of a marginalized group whose struggles and contributions so often go ignored.”
Kruzman is an American freelancer whose work focuses on climate change and the impact of nuclear contamination in the U.S., Central Asia and the Middle East. Her project will explore the histories and challenges facing Western Shoshone anti-nuclear activists in the state of Nevada.
“It’s an honor to be selected for this grant,” said Kruzman, whose work has appeared in National Geographic, The New Humanitarian, and The New York Times. “I was inspired by Kim’s sharp storytelling; I hope to honor her legacy while continuing to develop my own voice and center the experiences of those who aren’t typically represented in the media.”
The selection panel for the KWMF includes members of the IWMF team, together with Kim Wall’s family, peers, and journalism associates.
“We are incredibly moved by the impact Kim continues to have on her fellow journalists,” said Ingrid and Tom Wall, Kim’s mother and brother, respectively. “Raquel and Diana demonstrate a remarkable passion for sharing under-told stories. We see so much of Kim’s ethos in their projects: Her drive to explore diverse perspectives, a belief in storytelling as a force for change, and her profound ability to bring humanity to every story.”
2024 Winners: Isobel Thompson, Zhaoyin Feng, and Audrey Gray.
2023 Winners: Mahima A. Jain, Erin O’Brien
2022 Winners: Astrid Landon, Ye Charlotte Ming
2021 Winners: Stefania D’Ignoti, Bhavya Dore and Bongani Siziba
2020 Winners: Clair MacDougall, Mia Alberti
2019 Winners: Violeta Moura, Christina Ayele Djossa, Saba Imtiaz
2018 Winner: Anne Kirstine Hermann
Other awards in Kim's name
2019: Awarded to Malachy Browne, Evan Hill, Christiaan Triebert, Whitney Hurst, Dmitriy Khavin and the Visual Investigations Team at the New York Times for “Russia Tapes: Healthcare and Civilians Under Attack in Syria”.
2018: Awarded to David M. Halbfinger, Yousur Al-Hlou, John Woo, Malachy Browne and Iyad Abuheweila of The New York Times for their work on “The Death and Life of a Gaza Medic”
2017: Awarded to The Washington Post for the work “Occupied” that tells the story of three Palestinian lives.
In 2013, Kim Wall received a scholarship from Thanks to Scandinavia. The fund is now honoring the journalist with a scholarship in her name; The Kim Wall Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded annually to people with the same values as Wall.
2018-2019: Deniza Georgieva who is studying for her MA in Psychology at the City College of New York
2017-2018: The first scholarship goes to the Finnish journalist Hanna Nordenswan, who is studying documentary film in New York.
The Kim Wall Best Digital Reporting Award, sponsored by Google, rewards the best story or series of stories on international affairs using creative and dynamic digital storytelling techniques.
Link to the OPC Awards dinner where Joachim and Ingrid Wall lit a candle in memory of Kim below
Kim Wall graduated from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in 2013. A scholarship has been established at the school in her name.
To a brave, important and environment curious voice in Journalism, who will never be silenced.
A contribution to the goal of supporting young female journalists who cover the world and their subcultures in the spirit of Kim Wall, and what Kim liked to call 'the undercurrents of rebellion'.
Posthum to Kim Wall for her curious independence and constant courage. A Scandinavian journalist who was world class with outstanding ability in her reporting, ability to find stories and destinies which mirrors our globalized contemporary.
Kim Wall was respected and had the will to talk for the vulnerable and give light to part of the hidden world. Most of her articles was written from dangerous places and covered poverty, pop culture, foreing policy and feminism. Kim Wall wanted more women out in the world to get affected of life, that is a motto, wholly aligned with the values of Soroptimists.”
Judges' comments: Of all the strong entries in the Explanatory category this year, the judges said this multimedia project was emotionally provoking. It stood out for its gripping narrative and its effective interweaving of the largely-forgotten legacy of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands with the advancing threat of climate change to the same remote region. The complicated issues of nuclear contamination, islander displacement and economic disruption are not easy to forget.
You can donate to the Kim Wall Memorial Fund here:
What is the fund about?
The fund will fund a female reporter to cover subculture, broadly defined, and what Kim liked to call “the undercurrents of rebellion.”
Why we are doing this?
We are starting the Kim Wall Memorial Fund to honor her legacy. Kim wanted more women to be out in the world, brushing up against life, and we would like to help bend the world in her vision.
Who are we?
We are Kim’s family and friends. Her parents Ingrid and Joachim and her brother Tom. Her friends Mansi Choksi and May Jeong will be helping set the grant up in the coming days.
If you are interested in supporting, please write to us at kimwallgrant@gmail.com. You can also sign up for updates here.