BUJUMBURA July 10th (ABP) – The newspaper Journal.Africa, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Burundi, proceeded on Friday, July 7, 2023, in Bujumbura, to the award ceremony to the winners of the competition “Press Talent”, 2023 edition, organized under the theme “The impact of climate change on the socio-economic life of the people of Burundi”.
The award ceremonies were honored with the presence of the Chairperson of the National Media Council (CNC), the representative of the Ministry in charge of the environment, the regional and publication director of Le Journal.Africa, the UNIC manager, as well as other officials working in the media sector.
In her speech for the occasion, the Chairperson of the CNC, Mrs. Vestine Nahimana, stressed that Press Talent 2023 is of paramount importance in the current media landscape. “The selected theme, which highlights the impact of climate change on the socio-economic life of people, aligns perfectly with our vision to encourage responsible and engaged journalism,” she revealed.
According to her, the media has a vital role to play in raising public awareness of the environmental challenges that Burundians face. “The CNC strongly supports this initiative and is fully committed to promoting the participation of journalists and media professionals in Press Talent. This competition provides an unparalleled platform to demonstrate expertise and commitment to critical issues such as climate change,” she continued to say.
However, she pointed out, even though Burundi does not have a specialized school of journalism, it needs journalists with sufficient knowledge and skills, capable of producing quality work. She reassured that the CNC will continue to support initiatives such as “Press Talent 2023”, which promotes responsible, informed and quality journalism, and whose journalistic productions will help raise awareness and catalyze positive change for a sustainable future.
Mrs. Nahimana also expressed her warm thanks and encouragement to the managers of Journal.Africa as well as the United Nations Information Center in Burundi, for their solid partnership which is reflected in the great success of the organization of those award ceremonies for the best works.
For his part, the regional and publishing director of Le Journal.Africa, Mr. Prosper Aobe, said that given the impact of climate change on planet earth, they decided to organize that competition in partnership with UNIC. This initiative aims to raise and encourage collective awareness of the climate issues we face, he explained.
He took the opportunity to ask for financial and material assistance from media partners for the next edition.
Out of more than 45 applications for the “Press Talent 2023” competition, six candidates, three for the print media and three for the radio, were selected. The first winner in each category received an envelope of 1,000,000 BIF, while the second and the third received respectively 700,000 and 400,000 BIF.