Gender Links Call For Award Nominations

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Monday July 12, 2010 00:00

The Coordinator of Gender Links Botswana, Keabonye Ntsabane, says the ceremony will bring together media practitioners and trainers, gender activists, media regulators and anyone who agrees with 'Making Every Voice count, and Counting That it Does', the GEMSA slogan.

This means those who want to share best practices in creating media that is more responsive to gender and diversity concerns. Entries must be of work produced between June 1, 2008 and May 31 this year.

Ntsabane says the awards will take place in each of the 15 SADC countries in August and September.

Practitioners in the print media, radio stations, television, photojournalists, business and investigative journalists have been invited to submit their entries for the 20 awards by July 16.

Print media includes news, features, opinion pieces, commentaries and student papers while radio includes news, talk shows and documentaries. However, only news and documentaries will be accepted from television.

  Ntsabane says for the category of gender and economic reporting, participants will have to give audiences the best understanding of opportunities and risks brought by 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup tournament from a gender perspective.

For investigative journalism, there should be sustained reporting on a particular issue; therefore a series of articles should be submitted. 'You will need to submit a series of articles of an investigate story that you followed for a certain period,' Ntsabane says.

Country level winners will receive prizes in money and trophies and will be entered for regional gender and media awards. 'The money and trophy will be yours as an individual, and not for the office or company you work for,' says Ntsabane.

Regional winners will attend a gender and media summit and awards' ceremony in Johannesburg in October.