THE GUEST OF HONOUR THE PERMANENT SECRETARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MR. JOEL KAMOKO
MEDIA INSTITUTE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (MISA) ZAMBIA
INDEPENDENT BROADCASTING AUTHORITY (IBA)
REPRESENTATIVES FROM VARIOUS MEDIA HOUSES
ZANEC MEMBER ORGANISATIONS, BOARD AND SECRETARIAT
OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS PRESENT
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS,
INVITED GUESTS
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALL PROTOCOLS OBSERVED
IT IS MY HONOUR AND PRIVILEGE TO WELCOME YOU ALL TO THE ZAMBIA NATIONAL EDUCATION COALITION (ZANEC) MEDIA AWARDS. YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS DEEPLY APPRECIATED, AS IT REFLECTS YOUR RECOGNITION OF THE MEDIA’S VITAL ROLE IN PROMOTING THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL.
FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR, ZANEC IS A COALITION OF NON-STATE ACTORS DEDICATED TO ADVANCING THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR. THE ORGANIZATION FOCUSES ON RESEARCH, ADVOCACY, AND BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF ITS MEMBERS. ZANEC’S MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOS), FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (FBOS), NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS), TEACHER TRADE UNIONS, AND STUDENT UNIONS. CURRENTLY, ZANEC BOASTS A DIVERSE NETWORK OF 93 MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS, REPRESENTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S MEDIA AWARDS IS “TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH INCLUSIVE REPORTING: AMPLIFYING VOICES FOR EQUITY AND QUALITY IN EDUCATION.” IT IS THEREFORE APPARENT THAT THE MEDIA PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT. THROUGH SPOTLIGHTING THE NEED FOR INCLUSIVE, HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION, THE MEDIA CAN INSPIRE DECISION-MAKERS, COMMUNITIES, AND FAMILIES TO INVEST IN SYSTEMS THAT EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS WITH THE SKILLS NECESSARY FOR DEVELOPMENT.
THE THEME HIGHLIGHTS THE MEDIA’S VITAL ROLE IN DRIVING EDUCATIONAL REFORM BY GIVING A PLATFORM TO MARGINALIZED VOICES AND SHEDDING LIGHT ON ISSUES OF INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION. IT ALSO CONNECTS INCLUSIVE REPORTING TO THE BROADER GOALS OF EQUITY WHICH INCLUDE FAIR ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND AND QUALITY WHICH ENSURES THAT ALL LEARNERS RECEIVE EDUCATION THAT MEETS GLOBAL STANDARDS.
THE MEDIA’S FOCUS ON THESE AREAS CAN INFLUENCE POLICYMAKERS, STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS GAPS AND PRIORITIZE EDUCATIONAL REFORMS. THE MEDIA CAN THEREFORE ADVOCATE FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS AND IMPROVED QUALITY IN EDUCATION, INSPIRING ACTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM STAKEHOLDERS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE AWARDS IS TO PROMOTE REPORTING ON THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR BY RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, PARTICIPATION, AND THE NEED FOR THE PROVISION OF QUALITY EDUCATION IN THE COUNTRY.
THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
- IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE MEDIA WILL BE MOTIVATED TO REPORT ON EDUCATION-RELATED ADVOCACY ISSUES IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SUCH AS ACADEMIC FREEDOMS AND INCLUSIVE QUALITY EDUCATION AMONG OTHERS.
- IT IS ALSO EXPECTED THAT THE MEDIA WILL BE MOTIVATED TO REPORT ON ECD-RELATED ADVOCACY AND ITS IMPORTANCE.
- IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE MEDIA WILL BE REPORTING OBJECTIVELY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS SECTOR IN THE COUNTRY.
- INCREASED ZANEC VISIBILITY THROUGH THE MEDIA REPORTS AND NEWS.
THE AWARDS WILL BE IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES
- SKILLS AND TERTIARY EDUCATION – WITH A BIAS TO ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING.
- YOUTH AND ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION (YALE).
- GENDER AND EQUITY.
- EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD).
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IN THE 2024 MEDIA AWARDS, THE JUDGES NOTED WITH CONCERN THAT THE JOURNALISTS DID NOT FOLLOW THE TERMS OF REFERENCES (TORS) OF THE AWARDS THUS RENDERING MOST OF THE STORIES TO BE DISQUALIFIED. A TOTAL OF FIFTEEN (15) ENTRIES IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES WERE DISQUALIFIED ON THE BASIS THAT THEY WERE ENTERED IN THE WRONG CATEGORIES, WHICH WERE OUTSIDE THE CATEGORIES BEING ENTERED FOR AND ADVERTISED, OTHERS WERE DUE TO THE USE OF LOCAL LANGUAGE WITHOUT TRANSLATION. IT WAS ALSO NOTED THAT MOST JOURNALISTS DID NOT SHOW PROOF THAT THEIR WORKS HAD BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE MEDIA. SOME JOURNALISTS DID NOT TAKE THE TIME TO PUT UP WELL-RESEARCHED PUBLICATIONS.
IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING;
- ALL ELECTRONIC ARTICLES MUST SHOW PROOF THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE MEDIA. THIS CAN BE VERIFIED BY THE SIG TUNE AND THE FIRST PART OF THE NEWS WITH HEADLINES AND THE STORY THAT FOLLOWS. FOR THESE ENTRIES, THEY MUST CLEARLY SHOW AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEWS ITEM, SHOWING THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY IN THE NEWS.
- ONLINE ENTRIES MUST HAVE A DIRECT LINK TO THE BLOG TO SHOW PROOF THAT IT WAS PUBLISHED ONLINE.
- JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO ENTER THEIR BEST WORK PER CATEGORY.
- FOR THOSE MAKING SUBMISSIONS VIA ONLINE, RADIO AND TELEVISION, THE WORK SHOULD BE SENT IN STANDARD FORMAT, E.G. VIDEO, MP4, AUDIO MP3 AND PICTURES OR PHOTOS IN JPEG.
- PRINT ARTICLES FOR EXAMPLE FROM THE NEWSPAPERS CAN ALSO BE SENT VIA PDF.
- THE CALL FOR ENTRIES SHOULD CLEARLY STATE THE NEED FOR ORIGINALITY AND INNOVATION, MOST OF THE STORIES LACK IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS.
- JOURNALISTS SHOULD SHOW CLEARLY THE CATEGORIES THEY HAVE ENTERED FOR AND FOLLOW THE TERMS OF REFERENCE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ZANEC TAKES THIS OPPORTUNITY TO APPRECIATE OUR FUNDING PARTNER NORWEGIAN STUDENTS’ AND ACADEMIC INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FUND (SAIH) WHO HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THESE MEDIA AWARDS. INDEED, SAIH HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN SUPPORTING ADVOCACY IN HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS SINCE 2012 AND THE MEDIA AWARDS IN PARTICULAR SINCE 2014.
WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE EDUCATION OUT LOUD – GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION THROUGH THE TRANAC CONSORTIUM WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AWARDS.
FINALLY, ZANEC WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CONGRATULATE ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE CALL FOR THESE AWARDS.
THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
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