Kurdistan Chronicle has been honored with two prestigious awards in the United States: The Award of Excellence and the Award of Merit from the U.S.-based Religion Communicators Council (RCC). The publication was granted the Award of Excellence for the first time last year, making it the first print media outlet from the Middle East to win the distinction in the award’s 70-year history.

The awards were announced during the RCC’s annual convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, held from April 15-18, 2026, featuring panels with distinguished speakers and bringing together participants from around the world under the title “Coming Together: Charting Our Course”. Kurdistan Chronicle stood alongside esteemed organizations such as NBC, The Epoch Times, the Associated Press, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and NPR.

In the category of Written Works - Magazine, the Award of Excellence was given to The Story of Iraq’s Jews by Hemin Baban. This piece relates the harrowing history of Iraqi Jews, particularly highlighting their experiences during a violent assault in June 1941 known as the Farhud. During this tragic event, 179 Jews were killed, and many homes and businesses were destroyed. The article emphasizes the resilience of the Jewish community in Iraq and serves as a poignant reminder of their significant but often overlooked history.

The Award of Merit was given to Kurdistan’s Fallen Crosses by Goran Shakhawan, which recounts how Kurdish Peshmerga reinstated a cross on a church in Bashiqa, northeastern Mosul, in Iraq, after liberating the town from ISIS. The symbolic picture of the event, presented to Pope Francis by Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in February 2020, underscores the immense destruction caused by ISIS and the ongoing efforts to restore peace and religious coexistence in the region.

The Wilbur Awards recognize excellence in the secular or non-religious media in communicating about faith and religion with fairness, professionalism, honesty, and respect. According to RCC classifications, the Award of Excellence is granted to submissions of exceptional quality that are deemed unquestionably worthy of recognition, while the Award of Merit is for work deemed meritorious and worthy of acknowledgment.

“We congratulate the Kurdistan Chronicle on being honored with an Award of Excellence for the second year in a row,” Brad Pomerance, Wilbur Awards Coordinator for RCC, said.

“In selecting our Wilbur Honorees, our judges evaluate content, creativity, execution, and results, but the ultimate criterion is excellence in communication about faith and religion,” Pomerance told Kurdistan Chronicle. “Each entry in the Wilbur Awards is judged by three experienced media professionals.”

It is noteworthy that Kurdistan Chronicle’s article The Prophet Nahum: A Symbol of Religious Coexistence in Kurdistan, also written by Hemin Baban, was honored with the Award of Excellence in 2025. This piece exemplifies Kurdistan Chronicle’s commitment to bridging cultural divides and promoting the shared values of the Kurdistan Region’s diverse communities.

Read more: Kurdistan Chronicle Wins Award of Excellence in the U.S.

The Wilbur Award is the top honor provided by the RCC and is presented annually to recognize the most outstanding work in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media. The RCC has been presenting the Wilbur Awards annually since 1949.

“For more than seven decades, the RCC’s Wilbur Awards have honored outstanding storytelling in secular media that explores faith, values, and the human spirit,” Ryan Koch, president of the RCC’s Board of Governors, told Kurdistan Chronicle. “This year’s honorees carry that remarkable legacy forward with creativity, insight, and conviction.

“The Wilbur Awards ceremony is always an uplifting reminder of how meaningful, well-crafted communication can foster understanding among people of all beliefs,” Koch added. “I encourage anyone in media or communications to join us in celebrating the power of these inspiring stories.”

The RCC announced the 2026 Wilbur Award recipients on March 10, recognizing exceptional work by 25 media outlets within the secular (non-religious) media fields, including print and online journalism, book publishing, podcasts, radio, television, and film. In addition to the 25 winning entries, RCC also honored 46 Award of Excellence recipients and 41 Award of Merit honorees.