The Tiziano Project, a multimedia website and outreach effort led by four USC Annenberg alumni, won an Online Journalism Award in the Community Collaboration category at the annual conference of the Online News Association in Boston. The project, which provides media equipment and training to residents of warzones and refugee camps around the world, won for its Tiziano 360 Kurdistan website. Tiziano 360 Kurdistan is a documentary effort which equips the citizens of Kurdistan with multimedia tools and mentors to document and present the daily life in an area of crisis.

"Winning this award was a a truly validating moment for us," Tiziano Project executive director and adjunct photojournalism instructor Jon Vidar (M.A. Communication Management '06) said. "Having operated since 2007 as an entirely volunteer organization, this recognition over giants like CNN and NPR is really motivating us to reach even greater heights with both our organization and the communities in which we work." The Online Journalism Awards are given for excellence in digital journalism across all levels of news websites, according to the ONA website. Tiziano Project Website 2011 Online Journalism Awards