Six journalists were named today as winners of the "WASH Media Awards"
competition for their excellence in reporting on water, sanitation and
hygiene-related (WASH) issues. The journalists and their winning
entries are: Alain Tossounon (Benin): "Access
to safe water in the town of Ava-Sô, A perilous conquest for survival."
(Accès à l'eau potable dans la commune de Sô-Ava, Une conquête
périlleuse pour la survie – Ngala Killian Chimtom (Cameroon): "Taps Run Dry" – Berta Tilmantaite (Lithuania): "The River Runs Back" – Francis Odupute (Nigeria): "The Strategists" – Francesca de Châtel (Belgium): "Water Around the Mediterranean" – Ketan Trivedi (India): "Alchemy of Earning Money through Wastes and Making a Village Clean, Hygienic and Lovely".
The winners will receive their awards during a ceremony, on 31 August
2012 at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. During the World
Water Week, the journalists will share their experiences on reporting
WASH issues with leading water, sanitation, environment and development
experts reporting during different session throughout the week.
Media in general and journalists in particular are key partners for
sanitation, hygiene and water sector professionals in their awareness
raising, advocacy and behaviour change work. Journalists
play a central role in the highlighting of water and gender related
issues and positioning of women as environmental leaders. They greatly
contribute to bringing in the spotlight the too often neglected issues
of the necessity of toilets and hand washing for a dignified, safe and
healthy life for billions of people. The WASH Media Awards, organized by
SIWI and WSSCC, two leading sector organizations, take a clear stand
that it is not only necessary, but vital. SIWI’s Acting Executive
Director, Mr. Per Bertilsson, highlighted the importance of the WASH
Awards in recognising and promoting professional journalistic ingenuity
in covering WASH stories.
"The winning entries for the 2011-2012 WASH Media Awards reflect an
excellent example of how journalists could creatively bring
underreported stories to the surface. These stories will inspire many in
our sector to engage in new interventions, as they offer new
perspectives on solving issues related to water supply, sanitation and
hygiene," he said. The winners will be able to share their stories
at three different sessions during the 2012 World Water Week, which
takes place between the 26th and 31st of August, 2012.
The bi-annual WASH Media Awards competition is sponsored by the Water
Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council – WSSCC, and the Stockholm
International Water Institute – SIWI. More than 150 entries from 40
countries were evaluated by a jury chaired by: Mr. Mark Tran, a notable
international correspondent for The Guardian, UK. The jury included Mrs.
Faz da Hall, Executive Producer Channel Africa, SABC, South Africa, Mr.
Jon Sawyer, Executive Director, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting,
USA. Mr. Olivier Nyirubugara, Senior Trainer Voices of Africa Media
Foundation, Rwanda/Netherlands and Ms. Vinaya Deshpande, The Hindu,
India. The jury praised this year’s entries for their journalistic
excellence, investigative ability, and originality.
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Francis Odupute, "The Strategists". |