Red Pepper’s project titled ‘Force for good’ which was presented at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress in Durban May this year has been selected among the 7 best in the World.
In June 2017, during WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress (WNMC) in Durban, South Africa, Red Pepper had the opportunity to pitch the project to an international jury that selected 7 finalists from whom 4 winners from each region will receive grants to further research and development.
The project is part of WAN-IFRA’s Strengthening Media and Society Programme; Media Innovation for Development: Accelerator and Innovation Grants.
“We’re writing to let you know that Red Pepper’s project has made the final shortlist for the SMS Innovation Grants. As a result, we would love to have you in Berlin on October 9-12 to present the project at the WAN IFRA World Publishing Expo, where we will also award the four final winning projects with the SMS Innovation grant,” Sameer Padania , the head of experts who vetted the projects emailed to Red Pepper.
“You’ll be among 7 teams presenting on stage, which will be a fantastic opportunity for you to talk about your progress, as well as network with your colleagues from the industry. The event will bring together influential professionals from media across the world. In parallel, we’ll organise several innovation-related activities for you.”
The Programme offers participants the opportunity to apply for inclusion in a one-year accelerator and mentoring programme led by the Global Alliance for Media Innovation (GAMI), in conjunction with the WAN-IFRA global network.
Applicants must present an innovation project that they wish to develop for their media that has a clear social impact component.
The successful applicants receive dedicated assistance and support to develop their idea and advance it as far as possible in the available timeframe.
The idea takes advantage of skills – editorial, investigative reporting, online proficiency, technological expertise, etc, all put to good use in the interests of society.
“We are looking for projects that reaffirm the need for media, and media’s need for a strong community and Red Pepper seems to be in this category,” said Andrew Heslop, Director, Press Freedom World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers based in Beaubourg, Paris, France, while visiting Red Pepper offices early this year to assess the capacity of the publication in as far as implementing the project is concerned.
This ‘Force for Good’ will offer ideas that every individual can work with and build on, ranging from environment to service delivery issues, by Pointing out wrongs committed by public officials in service delivery and bring them out to the public for debate and action.
The campaign will focus on destructive social forces such as corruption, collusion, and bias in service delivery.
“We shall follow up complaints from the public about failures in service delivery and publish them on our digital and social media platforms; Red Pepper online, Facebook, Twitter, Radio and the print version of the newspaper, said the coordinator of the project and Red Pepper Editor, Ben Byarabaha.
“We shall call for action from the authorities; implementing agencies and oversight institutions like Inspectorate of Government (IGG), the Auditor General and Parliament. We shall also engage civil societies, donors, private sector and political leaders in this endeavour through open discussions and sharing of information with the concerned authorities.”
Red pepper, championed by the Editor, Ben Byarabaha at the May Durban, South Africa meet is the only Ugandan media house which made it to Berlin among several which participated in the project.
Others that made it from Africa include Thomas Nkusi, a South African blogger and Daily Nation’s Churchill Othieno , Margaret Sanchez , Angelica Kowanin and Ramsey George from Asia and Latin America respectively.
The winners will be awarded during the World publishing Expo scheduled for next week in Berlin, Germany.
Commenting on the Berlin Awards, Red Pepper Editor Ben Byarabaha said the success is a clear manifestation of the long held view that Red Pepper is the most innovative, informative and entertaining newspaper in Uganda and Africa at large.
“We are going to Berlin to win. We put up a good presentation in Durban and am optimistic for the same in Germany,” he said.
ABOUT WAN-IFRA
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is the global organisation of the world’s press. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 80 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.
Since its foundation in 1948, and over the past 70 years, WAN-IFRA has always been committed to fostering international business cooperation among publishers; sharing best practices in both business and technology; working as a representative trade body to elaborate and advance quality standards in the production workflow and business value chain; and engage with public authorities, institutions, and other trade bodies to promote press freedom and advocate for the independence of news media organisations.
Today, WAN-IFRA serves as a knowledge hub and a leading global resource for publishers, editors, chief technology officers, digital business executives, news publisher associations, technology suppliers, service providers and research centres with three focus areas: innovation and business development, regulation and global media policy, and media freedom. Every year, 9,000 executives working in 3,500 news organisations, technology enterprises and trade bodies use WAN-IFRA services. The organization is headquartered in Paris and Frankfurt.
During the 69th WAN-IFRA’s annual congress in Durban May this year, South Africa, Michael Golden, Vice Chairman of the Board of New York Times, was elected President of the WAN-IFRA.
The association also appointed a new Treasurer and a new President of the World Editors Forum. Sixteen executives from leading news media companies were also elected to new terms on the Boards of WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum.
