Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Bissan Odeh (born 1999) is a Palestinian storyteller and content creator living in the Gaza Strip . She holds a BA in Business Administration , English Language. She is a European Union Goodwill Ambassador . Since the beginning of the 2023 Palestinian-Israeli war , she has been posting photos and videos on her personal Instagram account in both Arabic and English, documenting the massacres and events in the Strip.
Her biography
Bissan currently works with the United Nations Population Fund . She was a member of the UN Women Gender Innovation Agora , and worked with the European Union on climate change . She has a program on Roya TV called “The Storyteller.”
She was displaced with her family to Al-Shifa Hospital after the Israeli Air Force bombed her family's home in the Beit Hanoun area , and her office in the Rimal area was also destroyed along with all its equipment.
On November 3, 2023, Bisan documented the Israeli forces targeting an ambulance at Al-Shifa Hospital.
Awards
Despite the difficulties she faced, Bissan won an International Emmy Award for News and Documentary for her moving report, "I am Bissan from Gaza, and I am still alive." Her win was announced Wednesday evening, during the 45th annual awards ceremony organized by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
The report, prepared by Bisan herself, recounts her experience of displacement with her family under bombardment in the Gaza Strip, and won the "Best Short News Story" award. Despite smear campaigns and pressure from Zionist organizations demanding the withdrawal of her nomination, Bisan's voice succeeded in breaking through the media blockade and reaching a wide global audience.
The report's inclusion on the shortlist for the "Best Short Story" award last July sparked a wave of objections from supporters of the occupation, which later led to official attempts in August to have the award organizers cancel its nomination. However, the academy rejected these pressures, affirming its commitment to press freedom and telling the truth.
Source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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