2005
Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards - Final
call for entries
London, 10 May 2005
Journalists, editors and photographers who report on business
in Africa are reminded that the deadline for entries to the
2005 Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards is Friday 20th
May.
Six awards recognise excellence in reporting on Africa's
business environment, as follows:
• Best Journalist - regular
and sustained coverage of business in Africa.
• Best Published Feature and
Best Television Feature -
a piece of groundbreaking journalism that provides insight
and clarification where it was previously lacking.
• Best Publication - a reputation amongst business and
investor community as a valued source of information on
business in Africa.
• Best Website - an innovative use of electronic platforms
to convey complex information about business in Africa
• Best Photographer - a clear commitment to portraying
a balanced and contemporary view of business in Africa.
Diageo,
the world's leading premium drinks business, established
these awards in 2004 as a practical contribution to promoting
more prolific coverage of Africa's business environment.
Entries
will be judged by a panel comprised of Prof. Wiseman Nkuhlu
(New Partnership for Africa's Development); K.Y. Amoako
(United Nations Economic Commission for Africa); Commissioner
Louis Michel (European Commission); Peter Woicke (formerly
International Finance Corporation); Alhaji Bamanga Tukur
(African Business Roundtable) and Tidjane Thiam (Aviva
plc). Paul Walsh, Diageo's Chief Executive Officer, will
chair the panel.
David Hampshire, Chairman, Diageo Africa,
said: "We
established these awards to celebrate excellence in journalism
and to raise the profile of business in Africa, which is
rarely reported. There tends to be a pessimistic view of
Africa and this is having a detrimental effect on investment
on the continent, but if the perception of Africa improves,
so too will the investment flows. I encourage all journalists,
editors and photographers who are working to provide a
more balanced view of Africa to enter these awards."
The
awards, bronze statues by the German artist Loni Kreuder,
will be presented at a gala ceremony at Guildhall in the
City of London on Monday 4th July 2005.
Interested parties
are encouraged to visit www.diageoafricabusinessreportingawards.com,
where full details of the judging criteria and method of
entry are available. Entries must be received by post at
Diageo Africa's head office in London by Friday 20th May
2005.
Alternatively, they can contact Robert Watkinson (+44
20 7462 7589) or Anita Ferns (+ 44 20 8978 6506)
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. Diageo plc
Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business.
With its global vision, and local marketing focus, Diageo
brings to consumers an outstanding collection of beverage
alcohol brands across the spirits, wine and beer categories
including Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Baileys,
J&B, Cuervo, Captain Morgan and Tanqueray, and Beaulieu
Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo trades
in some 180 countries around the world and is listed
on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London
Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo,
its people, brands and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com
2.
Diageo Africa
Diageo Africa is active, particularly in brewing, but also
in distilling, in the majority of the sub-Saharan African
countries. For Guinness, in particular, the connection
with Africa is a long one; the first recorded exports
of Guinness to Africa were to Sierra Leone in 1827. Now
Guinness is brewed in over 20 countries throughout Africa
and is exported to many others. The popularity of the
brand is going from strength to strength in Africa -
Nigeria is the third largest Guinness market in the world.
Several
of the larger Diageo companies in Africa are quoted on
local stock exchanges. Guinness Nigeria, for example, has
over 60,000 shareholders. All of these companies have active
corporate social responsibility programmes, covering initiatives
in water, health, education and other areas of value to
the communities in which we operate.
3. Diageo Africa Business
Reporting Awards
The Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards were established
in 2004 as a practical contribution to promoting more
prolific reporting of the business environment in Africa.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development has described
them as "an innovative approach to encourage more
prolific reporting of African business in the international
media."
The Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards
are part of a broader programme to encourage a more balanced
view of Africa in the media. This includes the development
of an interactive CD-Rom - Newsdesk:
Business Africa - to build capability among aspiring journalists.
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