Corporate Communications, Siemens Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Akin while appealing for Nigerian media professionals participation in this year award, said that in the past, the likes of Remmy Nweke of Champion Newspapers Limited, has made the nation proud by winning the Siemens Profile awards on two occasion.
He expressed optimism that most of the awards for 2007 would come to Nigeria given the kind of vibrant media practitioners the nation has been endowed with, especially within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector with particular interest in reporting science and technology.
A press statement from the chief executive officer, Siemens Southern Africa, Sigi Proebstl, noted that as a well-established feature of the African journalistic landscape, Siemens Profile Awards have once again open its doors to accept entries from all the countries on the continent.
He added that the Profile Awards are the only pan-African awards devoted exclusively to science and technology reporting, an area of media activity that is increasingly important for the continent as African countries compete for a place in a new world order characterised by the Information Age and rapid advances in technology.
“It is our firm belief that science and technology reporting needs to be continuously accelerated and improved on the continent in order to demystify these vitally important subjects that have the potential to impact massively on the lives of all Africa’s people,” he declared, stressing that the recognition and reward of those writers, broadcasters and producers who effectively do this, therefore, is an important task.
In order to make it easier for entrants, he said, that the award has been categorised as well as broadening in potential thus categorised based on the subjects of science and technology.
For 2007, he explained that the new categories are Healthcare; Industry; Mobility (Transportation); Safety and Security; Information Technology (Business Process and Outsourcing); Energy; Research and Development; and Corporate Responsibility with a science and technology slant.
“From the winners of each of the categories, an overall grand prize is awarded for the best piece of science and technology journalism of 2007,” he submitted.
Champion Infotel recalled that since the launch of the Siemens Profile Awards six years ago, the number of entries has grown steadily, as well as the number of countries participating, especially since the opening of the competition to countries across the African continent.
“Entries from French-speaking countries have grown substantially, and it is pleasing to note that these nations featured prominently amongst the 2006 Award winners,” he said.
In spite of the increasing number of entries, given the importance of radio and television in spreading messages across the continent, especially in the more remote regions, Proebstl added, these two media are vitally important channels in the communicating the benefits offered by developments in science and technology to Africa’s people.
According to him, in spite of a rising number of print entries, there has been a decline in submissions from radio and television.
“We would therefore especially urge journalists, producers and broadcasters in these areas to submit their work for adjudication and look forward to receiving their entries,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment