We are very honored to announce the winner of this year’s ONE Africa Award: SEND-Ghana. They’ve done an outstanding job of advancing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Ghana, and we’re proud and excited to recognize them for their good work.
SEND-Ghana is a policy research and advocacy-based NGO that works to promote good governance and equality for men and women in Ghana. Their main goal is to build society’s ability to organize, influence policy, improve transparency and access social services. And they play an important role in coordinating Ghana’s MDGs and monitoring improvements on them.
The ONE Africa Award seeks to highlight the dynamism and achievements of African individuals and civil society organizations who are building a better future for their communities, countries and continent. Past winners include Slums Information Development and Resources Centres and Development Communications Network. Each winner receives up to $100,000 to help continue the fight against poverty in Africa.
Congratulations, SEND-Ghana, and we thank you for all the work you do. You are living proof that new ideas and approaches are transforming lives in Africa one day at a time. Learn more about SEND-Ghana on their website.
And don’t forget to read about the runners up and honorable mentions on the ONE Africa Awards page.
It is that time of year where I get to announce that the ONE Africa Award is once again open to receive applications from African individuals and organizations, based in Africa, who are leading the fight against extreme poverty. The award of up to $100,000 aims to showcase civil society working on the ground to bring about change amongst the poorest people in Africa. This year, we are looking for organizations involved in new and exciting advocacy strategies that are transforming lives by demanding action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Since becoming the first ONE Africa award recipient in 2008, Development Communications has continued their boot-camp style training for journalists on maternal and child health issues. They have forged partnerships with other organizations working to ensure that maternal and child health issues remain at the top of the Nigerian development agenda.
Our 2009 ONE award recipient, SIDAREC, was founded by a group of young people from the slums who have worked hard to uplift the standard of living of the youth living in Kenya’s slum communities by tapping into their skills and talents. The ONE Award has allowed SIDAREC to support some of their most underfunded programs including their radio station, Ghetto FM, and their Early Childhood Development (ECD) and HIV/AIDS support programs. ONE Award funds have helped SIDAREC enroll more children at the ECD centers and has been instrumental in helping SIDAREC equip their Kibera Resource Centers.
Since the Award, SIDAREC has received numerous visitors all interested to know about their programs. Many colleges and universities are sending students to SIDAREC for internships. The award has enhanced SIDAREC’s credibility as an important resource in local and international youth projects and SIDAREC is considered an organization worth partnering with to support youth projects and reach the community members with messages of hope.
So spread the word! The ONE Africa award is a great opportunity to spotlight some of the exceptional work happening on the African continent. If you are eligible, or you know an organization that is, I encourage you to apply before the September 24th deadline.
Recently, we awarded the second annual ONE Africa Award. A lot of ONE members were interested in more information on this year’s recepients, Slums Information Development and Resource Centers (SIDAREC) based out of Kenya.
This great video, compiled by Kimberly Cadena, I think does a great job of explaining the background of the ONE Africa Award, as well as SIDAREC and some of this year’s runners up. We’ll have more on this soon!
Right now, I’m at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Forum in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania about to announce the 2009 ONE Africa Award winner: “Slums Information Development and Resource Centers” (SIDAREC) of Kenya.
Founded by a group of young people from the slums, SIDAREC focuses on lifting the standard of living of the youth living in Kenya’s slum communities by tapping into their skills and talents. The slums that SIDAREC operates in were spared the violence after the 2007 elections in large part because residents had an outlet for getting their voices heard through SIDAREC. Innovative approaches include the use of drama,
art, and Ghetto 99.9 FM radio to reach residents with development-oriented information.
You can learn more about SIDAREC and other outstanding ONE Award applicants here.
This is our second annual ONE Award-a onetime prize worth US$100,000 designed to recognize innovative African efforts to tackle the Millennium Development Goals. We received 170 applications in total and narrowed the field to eight final candidates, including the winner, all of whom are featured on our website.
I am really pleased to inform you that we have had great response to our ONE award call for applications so far and already have a very diverse pool of applicants from all over the continent who are involved in various sector activities to advance the millennium development goals. There is still one week left to receive applications – until August 21st – so if you meet the requirements, or know of a group that does, we encourage you to get the application in quickly.
This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the great work that is being done on the continent, designed and driven by Africans for Africans. This is our way of rewarding these efforts and we hope you can help us spread the word!
I am really pleased to announce that the ONE Africa Award is once again open to receive applications from African individuals and organizations, based in Africa, leading the fight against poverty. The award of up to $100,000 aims to showcase civil society working on the ground to bring about change amongst the poorest people in Africa. We’re looking for new ideas and exciting approaches to transforming lives, initiated by accountable organizations that can demonstrate success at a community, national or regional level.
Since becoming the first ONE Africa award recipient, Development Communications has continued their boot-camp style training for journalists on maternal and child health issues. They have also added a video suite to their resource centre where journalists can record their shows on maternal and child health for dissemination to the Nigerian audience. This type of innovation has an important role to play in saving lives and advancing African development. If you are, or know of others involved in innovative efforts to achieve the MDGs, we encourage these applications between now and the deadline of August 21st. By honoring the commitment and progress on the ground, we hope that new efforts can be inspired leading to a transformation of countries in Africa.
Ever since winning the first ever ONE Africa Award, Development Communication (Devcoms) has been overwhelmed with additional work and recognition as the leading organization in media and communication for development. Here’s a quick update on some of the exciting work Devcoms has been involved with:
Devcoms has had over five requests to partner in initiating new projects including a global initiative on science and public health journalism. Most of these potential partnership discussions have reached advanced stages of discussion.
In December 2008, the Nigerian Minister of Health invited Devcoms to join a national team to develop the strategic communication component of the national ‘Agenda for Health’.
Devcoms has carried out a series of capacity building activities for in-school journalism students incorporating mentoring and advocacy on poverty eradication.
Devcoms has delivered presentations to editors of national media on MDGs 4 and 5 in collaboration with UNICEF, most recently during the launch and dissemination of the 2009 State of the World Chidren Report.
Devcoms is also developing a publication on their strategy employed in the immersion of journalists using MDGs 2, 3, 4 and 5.
As you know, applications are now being accepted for the 2009 ONE Africa Award. This award is designed to honor, celebrate and recognize Africa-driven and African-led efforts that are changing lives, communities, and countries one step at a time. You can apply here.
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