Kofi Akpabli, from Ghana, has been awarded the Arts and Culture Award, at this year’s CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 Awards ceremony.
Kofi, who is a freelancer for Daily Graphic, Ghana, won for his story ‘The serious business of soup in Ghana’, which was chosen from among 2074 entries from 40 nations across the African continent.
The Awards was presented by John-Allan Namu, CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2009. The prestigious event which rotates location each year in tribute to their pan-African credentials was held at a Gala ceremony hosted by CNN and MultiChoice at the Serena Kampala Hotel, Kampala, Uganda, this evening, Saturday 29th May. A run of excerpts of the winning article had the audience, which included Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni breaking into intermittent laughter.
Member of the judging panel, Secretary General, Southern African Broadcasting Association, Arlindo Lopes said: “Kofi Akpabli successfully tells the story of the place and importance of soup in Ghanaian culture. Soup, according to the writer, is not just a gastronomic element, but also plays a key role in literature, tradition, art, geography – in short – in the whole culture of Ghana. The story is also told through a delightful, well crafted and engaging writing which compels the reader to taste the soup”.
The prestigious sponsors include: Coca-Cola Africa; Ecobank, IPP Media, Tanzania; Kampala Serena Hotel; Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD); NN24 Nigeria; Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry® solution and A24 Media.
The Kampala Serena is the delegate hotel for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010. The hotel extends a truly warm Kampala welcome to finalists, judges, attending media and guests from across the continent. The finalists will enjoy an all expenses paid five day programme of workshops, media forums, networking and have the opportunity to see some of the sights of Kampala.
Parisa Khosravi, senior vice president of international newsgathering for CNN Worldwide, said: “Each year, the men and women who enter these awards prove that they have the determination, professionalism and courage to showcase Africa’s stories to the world. In doing so, they highlight the depth and strength of journalism across the continent.”
Collins Khumalo, President MultiChoice Africa, said: “We are very proud to once again partner with CNN International to recognize and encourage excellence in journalism in Africa.
The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Awards have become one of the continent’s biggest and most coveted journalism awards and celebrate the hard work, talent, sacrifice and the dedication that the best among our journalists commit to their work.
The awards have grown significantly over the years and we have witnessed previous winners become internationally recognized for their talent and hard work – watching their rise to fame as respected reporters on Africa has made our investment in these awards truly rewarding. It is a great honour to be in Kampala hosting these awards for the very first time.”