The Minister of Information and Civic Education of Malawi, Leckford Thotho last Wednesday launched the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ozone Africa Media Award in Lilongwe.
This new award has been created to encourage highest standards of excellence in Environmental and scientific reporting, focusing on Ozone
issues in Africa and honor individuals for their outstanding achievements.
A statement issues tot the GNA in Accra by UNEP said through its Ozone Compliance Assistance Programme in Africa, it has developed a strategic
partnership with journalists, which materializes in an ongoing provision of capacity building and information sharing.
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: "The story of the Montreal Protocol is really a collective of hundreds of compelling and newsworthy individual stories which are waiting for the
right voice.
"Beyond numbers and statistics, the Montreal Protocol is above all a story with a human face, showing how the consequences of a global
environmental issue can affect us and how we as individuals can be part of the solution.
"Institutions and individuals in each country and region have made major contributions to the protection of the ozone layer, and their stories must be told.
"We want to enlist the help of journalists in telling this story. This competition provides a good opportunity to harness the power of the media and further engage them in the work lying before us," he said.
The award places a premium on compelling stories occurring in Africa that report problems and solutions related to the ozone issues and related impacts.
The Ozone Africa Media Awards is designed to elevate the standards of excellence in print, audio and audiovisual media and offer winners a boost in marketing and exposure.
The winners will be announced at the 22nd Conference of Parties to the Montreal Protocol in November 2010. As part of its efforts to strengthen the capacity of Journalists to report on issues related to the phase out of Ozone depleting substances, UNEP has also released the Second edition of the "Vital Ozone Graphics", a resource kit for journalists produced by UNEP and
Grid Arendal.
"Vital Ozone Graphics" sheds a light onto the latest decisions taken by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to accelerate the phase out of HCFCs and the implications this has on the use of replacement chemicals.
It also focuses on the links to climate both physically up in the air and on the institutional ground of international treaty negotiations and discusses the remaining challenges posed by the large amounts of ozone
killer banks still present in equipment in use and stocked away, only safe for the atmosphere once entirely destroyed.
Minister Leckford Thotho said "This is a great honor to the Malawi nation that UNEP has decided to launch this very first Ozone Media Award for Africa in the capital city of Malawi, the warm heart of Africa, the country of President Bingu Wa Mutharika, who is the Chairman of the African Union.
"The media has played quite commendable role, although with a lot of challenges, in promoting the understanding of environmental issues, specifically those that are ozone related.
"This award will certainly increase awareness to the majority of the African population.
The award was announced at the 16th main meeting of the Ozone Officers Network for English speaking countries in Africa aimed to assess the
compliance status of African countries towards plans for total phase out of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).
The meeting is held jointly with a media workshop, gathering journalists from twelve countries in Southern Africa.