Organizers of the continental science and technology journalism awards, the Siemens Africa Profile Awards, has opened its doors for this year, 2009, edition.
Spokesman for Siemens Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Akinlabi, said that the 2009 Siemens Africa Profile Awards competition has opened for entries, seeking to honour African media practitioners who excel in science and technology journalism.
According to him, the Siemens Profile Awards, now in their eighth year, are the only pan-African awards that exclusively promote science and technology journalism.
“African journalists are invited to submit entries between now and 31 January 2009 for any work published in print, online or broadcast media,” he said.
Akinlabi who is the Head, Corporate Communications at Siemens Nigeria, said the annual awards have become a leading item on the continent’s journalism calendar.
“We are impressed by the increased number of entries from all media platforms, and the general improvement in the quality of submissions. The African media are continually prioritizing science and technology coverage,” he said.
He emphasized that the 2007 Siemens Profile Awards attracted 264 entries from 17 African countries and expressed the hope that there will be more entries from Nigeria this year to increase the nation’s winning chances.
Akinlabi also said that the entries would be in four languages, namely English, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
He noted that the heightened media interest in science and technology issues during this year is expected to boost entries.
“Issues such as the surge in technology uptake and increased science research across the continent are already emerging as prominent themes in media coverage,” he said, stressing that the award categories have been changed.
The 2009 entries, he pointed out, may be submitted in six categories, namely, industry, energy, healthcare, information technology (with emphasis on business process and outsourcing), technology-related corporate social responsibility and the student category.
Akinlabi further said the new categories are expected to simplify the entry submission process, resulting in increased number of entries.
He said online submissions are welcome at www.profileawards.co.za or by post or courier to Siemens country offices around Africa.
Highlighting that the Siemens Profile Awards aim to advance quality science and technology reporting, he enjoined media practitioners on the continent, especially in the country to identify specific technology issues by addressing them, so as to bring about change in social-economic conditions.
“The awards encourage African science journalists to anchor their reporting in sound research, quality reporting and individual journalistic flair,” he said.
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