DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

City Editor of The Tribune, Shri Nitin Jain, has been selected for the prestigious CineKind ‘Voice for the Voiceless Award 2026’ for his contribution to promoting compassion and awareness towards animals through journalism.

The award is part of CineKind, an initiative created by the Film Federation of India in partnership with People for Animals (PFA) to recognise individuals and institutions using cinema, journalism and other forms of media to promote compassion towards animals.

The CineKind Awards, now in their second year, honour individuals from the film, media and public life who have made a significant contribution to animal welfare and the cause of kindness towards animals. Ten awards are being presented this year across categories covering films, actors, journalists, documentaries, photography, innovation and animal welfare.

According to the organisers, the expert jury selected Nitin Jain in recognition of his longstanding efforts to highlight animal welfare issues and promote greater public awareness and compassion towards animals through his journalistic work.

The CineKind Award Ceremony will be held on October 4, 2026, at The Leela Mumbai, near Mumbai International Airport, and will be attended by leading personalities from the film industry, politics, media and business. The ceremony will be followed by dinner and is expected to have an attendance of around 500 guests.

This year’s awardees include Anant Ambani, who will receive the CineKind Compassion Award; filmmaker Amit Rai, Director of Ohh My Dog, who will receive the Director of Change Award; actor John Abraham, who will receive the Champion for Animals Award; Raveena Tandon, who will receive the Legacy of Kindness Award; actor Wamiqa Gabbi, recipient of the Actor for Kindness Award; and Kalyan Varma, who will receive the Kindness in Frame Award.

The Innovation for Compassion Award will be presented to Imagine Foods, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza, while YODA, Pooja Sakpal and Priya Hebbar will receive the Guardians of Kindness Award. Nikhar Juneja has been selected for the Impact Award for Animal Welfare.

The CineKind 2026 jury comprises prominent personalities including Sonu Sood, Hema Malini, Rupali Ganguly, Zeenat Aman, Sonakshi Sinha, Anant Mahadevan, Shriya Saran, K. C. Bokadia, Sreelekha Mitra and Pankaj Parashar.

The organisers have invited Nitin Jain to receive the award personally at the ceremony. He has also been requested to record a short video message speaking about his work and commitment towards animal welfare, which will be screened during the awards ceremony.

The recognition places the spotlight on the important role of journalism in giving a voice to animals and bringing issues concerning their welfare, protection and humane treatment into public discourse.sunday 6 september 2026