MFWA rewards Journalists for hardwork

Accra, Oct. 29, - The West African Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA) on Saturday rewarded journalists for their sterling performance in various sectors of development.

    

The WAMECA is an initiative of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to promote media excellence in the sub-region.

    

The awards rewarded and inspired journalistic excellence in West Africa as well as honoured West African journalists who had produced compelling works with significant impact on society.

    

It brought together journalists, media experts, and media development organisations from the 16 West African Countries, personalities from the United Nations agencies, sub-regional bodies and civil society groups.

    

The conference which preceded the awards deliberated on and identifed key challenges of media development and explored ways in which stakeholders could effectively support and promote good governance, regional integration and peace in West Africa.

    

Madam Sophie Ly Sow, a Media Expert in Senegal and a Board Member of the MFWA said the global community gave some targets to reach certain goals that would change the quality of lives including poverty, hunger, health, modern energy, climate change, water and sanitation.

    

She said in order to reach the goals the mass media was seen as the gatekeepers, agenda setters and watchdogs and had very important roles to play in reaching the SDG goals.

    

In his welcome address, Mr Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA said the presence of the people at the event demonstrated the support of the media and journalism excellence award.

   

This, he said explained why MFWA was standing up for quality journalism and had convened a conference to discuss the challenges, prospects, challenges and opportunities in the media industry in the sub-region.

    

There were eight categories of awards with Seth Kwame Boateng of the Multimedia Group, Ghana winning the overall award and the best in Human Rights reporting and had $2,000.00 and $500.00 respectively.

    

Femi Asu of the Punch Nigeria Limited won the best reporter in Oil and Gas and took home a $1,000.00 while,  Fouseini Saibou of Radio kanal FM, Togo won the best reporter in Health and took home $500.00 and Sheila Williams of Ghana Business Day Newspaper won the best in ECOWAS and Regional Integration reporting and took home $500.00.

    

Alagbe Jesusegun of the Punch Nigeria Limited won the best in Anti-Corruption reporting and took home $500.00 and Manasseh Azure Awuni also of the Multimedia Group won the best in Investigative Reporting and took home $1,000.00.

    

All the winners were given certificates and plaques with a year round capacity building to the West African countries and the parts of the World excluding the SDG award winners.

    

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) awards winners included Michael Sarpong Nfum of Starr FM Correspondent, Sunyani, GH₵10,000.00, 1st runner-up Albert Sory of Multimedia Group, Bolga, GH₵6,000.00, 2nd runner-up, Nelson Nyadror Adanuti of Daimond FM, Tamale, GH₵3,000.00, and Cecilia Deisob of the Ghana News Agency, Accra, GH₵2,000.00 and also a certificate and plaque. 

GNA.