Promasidor Quill Awards Holds On 24th Of May

Saturday the 24th of May, 2014, all roads lead to Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos for the much awaited 2014 edition of the annual Promasidor Quill awards.The awards which seek to reward journalists and media practitioners for excellence and dedication to the practice of ethical journalism is in its second season.

Entries closed for the 2014 season of Promasidor Quill Awards on April 30, 2014.This year’s leg of the awards will throw up a keener contest among the journalists as there was an astronomical upsurge in the number of entries from enthusiastic journalists who submitted works for the contest from across the country for the awards.

“It was unbelievable!” said Andrew Enahoro, Head, PR/Legal of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, “You won’t believe the volume of entries received from journalists and photojournalists across the country that turn in their works published between 1st April 2013 and 30

th April, 2014 for the awards. Still, we still have reports of some journalists who said they could meet the April 30, 2014 submission of entries deadline for the awards. This goes to show how serious and important this wards is to journalists across the country.

“We look forward to a keen competition this year. The judges are having enormous task of perusing the mountain of entries to award prizes to the best works in all the categories. Surely, this year’s edition of the awards will be as exciting as the events leading up to it,” he enthused.

The panel of judges appraising entries for the awards comprise of seasoned practitioners and distinguished professionals including Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole, a veteran journalist, who returns as chairman of the panel of judges; Professor Emevwo Biakolo, Dean of School of Media and Communication of the Pan African University (PAU); Kadaria Ahmed, former editor of 234 Next, Joseph Okonmah, Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos Chapter; and Reze Bonna, a renowned photographer and music producer.This race towards this year’s edition of the awards was declared open late last year by Chief Keith Richards (OBE), the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited at a well attended media briefing in September, 2013. Chief Keith Richards extolled the invaluable role of the media to the society and to the growth and sustenance of his company, Promasidor Nigeria Limited.

“You all will agree the media is an important organ in the life of our society and the responsibility it plays in checking the pulse of different issues in our society is crucial but most times undermined. The role of the journalists that work hard on the field to research, source for accurate information and report them daily to millions of people each day is also often overlooked and taken for granted.

“Since we sold the first sachet of milk and grew our product brands across our dairy, beverage and food enhancement categories we have enjoyed and benefitted from the support of the media and committed journalists who have noticed our commitment and hard work… our success over the years has been driven by the dedication of the media to promote our quality consumer brands,” he said.

In return for the overwhelming support and cooperation the company has enjoyed from the media over the years, Promasidor Nigeria Limited conceived and launched the Quill Awards as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) platform in Nigeria to reward journalists for dedicated news reportage in key areas such as Industry, Education, Corporate Social Responsibility & Nutrition issues all year round.

Chief Keith Richards stated that “We are committed to continue to grow the awards as a professional platform of assessment, recognition and reward for outstanding journalistic work. These awards seek to remind journalists of the importance of their role in society and to society, the need to encourage professionalism and appreciate outstanding work,” he stated.

In fulfillment of its promise to continue to grow the awards, Promasidor Nigeria Limited expanded the latitude of the Quill Awards to include two additional categories making this year’s edition seven categories. “We have increased the number of categories to accommodate more entries and particularly created one to encourage young and upcoming writers. This is mainly targeted at student writers and journalists that have their works published,” Enahoro explained.

What is more, earlier in the year, Promasidor Nigeria Limited also entered into partnership with Thomson Foundation to take the Awards to a new level. To this end, the best overall entry for the 2014 Promasidor Quill awards will have the opportunity of participating in a five -week course in the UK under the supervision of Thomson Foundation.The categories for the Promasidor Quill Awards 2013/14 season are as follows: Best Report on Nutrition, Best CSR & Industry Report of the Year, Education Reporter of the Year, Best Photo Story of the Year, Best Report on Children, Future Writer of the Year and Brand Advocate of the Year.

The awards ceremony holds in the Grand Ballroom of Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos from 5:00 PM on Saturday, May 24th, 2014.