Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa announces results of 2011 RFPA Awards

A group of children listening to the radio in Sierra Leone

SFCG’s Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa project recently announced the results of their 2011 RFPA Awards, recognizing high-quality radio programs that contribute to peace in Africa.  This year, awards were given in three categories: Youth, Gender, and “Jury’s Special Award.”  The jury included media and peacebuilding experts from sub-Saharan Africa as well as from Europe and the United States.

1^st Prize in the Youth category was given to Shujaaz, a Kenyan program produced by Bridget Deacon. Adapted from a comic book, Shujaaz combines drama with audience and expert interviews. The show aims to inspire young Kenyans to take action to improve their lives and engage with the urgent issues that will shape their future. The award-winning episode focused on the political manipulation of youth.  2^nd Prize in this category went to the first episode of The Team, which is produced in Kenya by Just Imagine Productions.

In the Gender category, 1^st Prize was given to Fifty-Fifty: Rape and Gender-Based Violence in Senegal, produced by Sheriff Bojang Junior. This program addressed the issue of rape and other forms of violence against women in Senegal including the physical and psychological consequences for the victim as well as the issue of impunity for perpetrators.  Fifty-Fifty also won 3^rd prize in the same category, for an episode dealing with female genital mutilation.

In the “Jury’s Special Award” category, 1^st prize was given to a Ugandan program titled Let’s Talk Peace-Pastoralist Conflict, produced by Ojok Emmanuel. The program addressed the issue of conflict between local residents and pastoralists in Aija sub-county, Uganda.  It explored different ways to address misunderstandings between the two communities.  The jury noted that most stakeholders were interviewed and that listener comments were encouraged.

Other note-worthy programs included an entry from Somalis,  focusing on how civic education can help counter sea piracy as well as a special edition of the Cameroonian program Top Stories, addressing the issue  of mob justice in Cameroon.

All these programs can be listened to on RFPA’s website. For the programs that are not in English, a translated script is available on request from RFPA.

SFCG congratulates all the winners and thanks all of this year’s participants.