Asia Pacific MDG Media Awards

Asia Pacific MDG Media Awards

Update:

It is opened for Web-based Material Now.
The submission deadline is extended until 15 April 2007


About the Awards
The Asia-Pacific MDGs Media Awards honor distinguished reporting on
the Millennium Development Goals by producers and journalists in
print, radio and television covering the Asia-Pacific region.

The MDGs form a human development blueprint agreed to by all the
world's countries and all the world's leading development
institutions. There are eight goals, all with time-bound targets to
be achieved by the year 2015. The MDGs represent a vision of a
better world with less poverty, universal primary education, gender
equality, healthy mothers and children, a world no longer threatened
by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and dwindling environmental resources.

The Awards aim to generate better awareness and understanding of the
MDGs in Asia-Pacific, and motivate journalists from the region to
cover stories on how MDGs are being pursued in the region. It is
also hoped that media will be stimulated, through the Awards, to
become a driving force in accelerating national action toward
achieving the MDGs.

A team of professional and independent jurors for each category will
select the winning entries on 30-31 March 2007 at the AIBD office in
Kuala Lumpur. Criteria will cover accuracy and innovation, clarity
of message, technical proficiency and overall presentation.

The first of its kind in the region, the Awards will be presented
during the 63rd UNESCAP Commission Session scheduled for April 2007.

The 1st prizewinner for each category receives US$7,000 plus a
trophy and certificate, and the runner-up US$2,000, a trophy and a
certificate. Deadline for all entries is 25 March 2007. The Asia-
Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) acts as the
secretariat for the Awards, which are made possible through the
cooperation and assistance of the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).



Contest Rules
Contest year is 1 January 2006 through 30 June 2007. All entries
must be postmarked on or before midnight of 25 March 2007 (update:
15 April 2007).

Entries can be in English and in the local language with
corresponding requirements.
Entries must have been originally published or broadcast in any
country within the Asia-Pacific region during the competition
period, or are scheduled for publication and airing not later than
end of June 2007.
The applicant must secure signed authorization from his superiors,
granting the following royalty-free worldwide rights to AIBD and
UNESCAP:

The right to redistribute the submitted material to contest judges
for the purpose of screening.
In the event your entry is chosen as a winner, the right to
redistribute the material via cable, terrestrial broadcast,
satellite, CD/DVD, internet webcast or other media, in original or
in any reencoded digital or analogue form, for the purpose of
promoting the millennium development goals.
Furthermore, you guarantee that the material is free from rights of
3rd parties worldwide. Entries will not be returned.

If the entry is yet to be published or aired, the applicant must
secure written commitment from the duly authorized media
representative for a definite airing or publication not later than
30 June 2007.
All entries should be sent to the following address:
Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development
C/o Jose Maria G. Carlos
2nd Floor, Bangunan IPTAR
Kompleks Angkasapuri
50614 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia


Content
Entries in the three categories should focus on one or all of the
following aspects in their reports:

Tracking progress on the MDGs in your country: How are countries in
the region performing? Which countries are `on track' to achieve
the MDGs and which aren't? Why are some countries performing well
and not others?

Human Face of MDGs: What does MDGs mean for citizens in the region ?
What is the role of civil society? What are the success stories
heading towards 2015? Who are the key players driving forward change
and what are they doing?
Changes needed in achieving the MDGs – What changes are needed to
meet the 2015 target? Eg. improving public service delivery
(including education, health, water and sanitation); engaging
communities; empowering women; fostering publicprivate partnership;
etc.
For more information on the MDGs, please go to
www.un.org/millenniumgoals. For information on MDGs in the Asia
Pacific region, including reports and 10- minute film on MDGs, visit
www.mdgasiapacific.org



Who can Participate
Radio & Television

The competition is open to all radio and TV producers/journalists
from public service broadcasting organisations, private networks and
free-lance producers covering the `UNESCAP' Asia and the Pacific
region. Entries will be accepted from all producers, regardless of
the nature, size and shape of the organization they might belong to.

Eligible entries include a special report, current affairs
programme, talk show or a documentary with a length of between 15
minutes and 60 minutes. A series of at least 10-minute feature
report each (minimum of two reports) is acceptable. Daily news
stories are excluded.
Each producer can submit up to two programmes only. All entries can
be in English and/or in the local language. If they are in the
vernacular or local language, a subtitle in English should be in
place for television, and for radio, they should be accompanied by a
typewritten English translation. In both instances, entry must be
submitted together with the entry form and a written certification
from the editor/executive producer that the translation truly
reflects the content of the programme script in the local language.
Each applicant can submit up to two entries only.
All entries must be submitted in VCD/DVD for TV programmes and in CD
for radio programmes.


Print

Journalists covering the `UNESCAP' Asia and the Pacific region,
whether freelance or affiliated or regularly employed in a newspaper
or magazine company can join the competition.

Eligible entries include a special report, feature and investigative
piece. Daily news stories and publicity materials are excluded.
Entries must be in English and/or in the local language and must
have a minimum length of 1,000 words. Entries in the local language,
however, must be accompanied by a typewritten English translation
and a written certification from the chief editor of the
newspaper/magazine, which published the article that the translation
truly reflects the content of the article in the local language.
Each applicant can submit up to two pieces only. They should have
been published in a newspaper or magazine of mass circulation in the
country of origin within the contest year.
If the article is yet to be published, the applicant must secure a
written commitment from the duly authorized media representative for
a definite schedule of publication.


Web-based Material

Articles published on a web site fall within the print category.
Videos published on a web site fall under the TV category. In both
cases, web-based materials must be publicly available on the
internet throughout the competition period (1 January 2006 to 30
June 2007). Any entrant can submit a maximum of two web-based
articles and up to two web-based videos. Entries can be in English
or the local language, with an accompanying English translation.

Web-based works are judged as-in, meaning as they appear on the web
site. We will not accept DVDs or CD-ROMs with an off-line
replication of a web site. Web-based works have to be live and on-
line.
The MDG Media Awards assumes that any entered web-based work is
authentic in all its parts: text, pictures, audio, video and other
multimedia elements. Entries must be secured with signed
authorization from the creator(s) (i.e. author and/or producer) as
well as from the current owner of the intellectually property rights
on the work (i.e. the employer).
Entries don't have to cover all eight MDGs, but could focus on one.
The range of content for the media awards is enormous. Suggested
ideas include
A person or family's struggle to ease hunger and fight disease (MDG
Goal 1)
Success story of an AIDS victim and the role government, civil
society and other institutions play into that family's ordeal. (MDG
Goal 6)
Young peoples concerns with climate change and air quality (MDG Goal
7)
A `day in the life' of a rural child trying to obtain an education
(MDG Goal 2)

Reference to the MDGs (whether one or all MDG Goals) in your content
is mandatory.


Judging Process & Criteria
Each category will have 3 jurors. An AIBD panel will undertake the
first screening to ensure basic rules and requirements are met.

Professional and independent jurors with relevant expertise and
experience in each category will do the second screening.
They will judge each entry submitted in its entirety, in an
independent and objective manner. All entries must meet the
universally accepted standards of professional journalism relating
to fairness, relevance, accuracy and balance.
Other equally important criteria will involve the following:
Radio and Television

Innovation - (25) Points are awarded for originality, creativity,
and novelty.
Clarity of Message – (25) Points are awarded for substance in
communicating the topic/issue to the listener/viewer, for raising
level of awareness of the value and impact of MDGs and for holding
the attention of the audience.
Technical Quality – (25) Points are awarded for production quality,
best use of production elements such as music, voice, graphs,
interviews, etc.
Overall Presentation – (25) Points are awarded for how various
editorial and production elements are combined to produce a
compelling programme that impact society as a whole.
Print

Sourcing – (25 Points) article must feature more than one source of
data. Claims must be corroborated by interviews, documents and/or
studies.
Clarity of Message–(25 Points) the article explains the topic
clearly to the newspaper/magazine audience, ensuring right grammar,
syntax and choice of words.
Technical Proficiency – (25 Points) the piece must show above
average level of writing skill/style, appealing and able to
communicate complex issues into understandable piece to the ordinary
reader.
Impact on Society – (25 Points) article must exhibit scope and
significance of issue/subject and its impact on society as a whole.
All the jurors will select the winning entries on 30-31 March 2007
at the AIBD office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Awards will be
presented in April 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The decision of the board of judges is final.


Prizes
The 1st prize winner in the print, radio and TV categories will
receive seven thousand US dollars ($7,000), a trophy and a
certificate.

The runner –up in the print, radio and TV categories will receive
two thousand US dollars ($2,000), a trophy and a certificate.
First prize winners will be invited to a press conference by UNESCAP
in Bangkok, Thailand. Airfares and hotel accommodations will be
covered by the secretariat.
Cash prizes will be given to the winning producers for radio and TV
and to the winning author/writer for print. The winning networks and
publications will receive trophies and certificates.


Submission Procedures
Broadcast

Submit a completed entry form with one recording of the broadcast
material, and four (4) copies of a short description of the
broadcast material. Each copy of the short description should have a
copy of the entry form attached.

For radio, the recording should be submitted as a CD. A television
entry may be submitted as a one-half inch VHS videocassette or a
DVD. An English translation of the radio programme should also be
submitted.
Print

Submit a completed entry form and four (4) copies of the entry,
which may consist of tear sheets, reprints or photocopies. Each of
the copies should have a copy of the completed form attached. The
submitted stories should clearly show the author's byline, the name
of the publication and the date of the publication.


For further details, please contact:

Mr. Jose Maria G. Carlos
E-mail: joecarlos(at)aibd.org.my
Phone: +60-3-2282-3719/-4618

Ms. Stephanie Dunstan
E-mail: dunstan(at)un.org
Phone: +66-2-288-2172