The Independent's #RefugeesWelcome campaign recognised at INMA awards

Syrian refugee children stand at a fence in Nizip district near Gaziantep, Turkey (EPA)

The Independent’s campaign calling on the UK Government to recognise the scale of the refugee crisis and pledge that Britain would take its fair share of refugees has won a prestigious international award.

The #refugeeswelcome campaign was named best community service campaign at the International News Media Association’s Global Media Awards.

The campaign was launched in response to the pictures of a small boy, Aylan Kurdi , who had drowned attempting a sea crossing to Europe, and whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey. It was a graphic and tragic example of the many refugee deaths which were being ignored by most European governments and many media outlets. The Independent, with its digital coverage in the vanguard, published the images without any attempt to play down their horror and called on readers to demand action from the UK government.

A petition launched in conjunction with change.org attracted almost 400,000 signatures in four days, while thousands more tweeted, facebooked and instagrammed pictures of themselves holding signs reading '#refugeeswelcome'.

The campaign was at the forefront of calls for improvements to government policy and, on 7 September, the Prime Minister confirmed Britain would take 20,000 refugees, a considerable increase on previous commitments.

INMA is one of the leading providers of global best practices for news media companies looking to grow revenue, audience, and brand amid profound market change.

In March, The Independent became the first national UK newspaper title to move to a digital-only future.