Mr. Yakubu Abdul-Majeed in a group photograph with other stakeholders and journalists
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Northern Regional branch, has launched the 4th edition of this year’s awards in Tamale, in the Northern Region.
The 4th edition of the Northern Region GJA Awards is on the theme: “Ensuring Violence-Free Elections: The Role of the Media.”
The Northern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr. Yakubu Abdul-Majeed, at the launch urged journalists to discharge their duties with the utmost care and diligence to maintain peace before, during, and after the elections.
“It is with this in mind that we have carefully chosen the theme for this year’s awards: ‘Ensuring Violence-Free Elections: The Role of the Media’. This theme is not merely a slogan, but a call to action. It is part of our strategy to solicit views and suggestions on how we can collectively contribute to peaceful elections in our regions and the country as a whole. We aim to foster dialogue, promote understanding, and champion responsible journalism during this critical period,” he pointed out.
The Northern Regional Chairman of GJA, used the opportunity to passionately appeal to the Northern Regional Minister to assist the association with resources to organise workshops on conflict-sensitive reporting before the general elections, adding that such training is crucial in equipping journalists with the skills needed to navigate the complexities of election coverage.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhassan Shani Shaibu, said the theme for the awards is not only timeous but appropriate as government and other stakeholders are working hard to ensure peaceful elections on December 7, 2024.
“It is our collective responsibility to protect and sustain the peace of the country. It is only under peace and unity that we can bring development to the people of the country and the Northern Region in particular. I wish to commend the Leadership of the GJA for focusing on violence-free elections as the theme for this year’s awards.”
He assured GJA of the continuous support of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council towards the awards aimed at promoting peace before, during, and after the December 7 general election.
The Northern Regional Secretary of GJA, Mr. Albert Futukpor, revealed that the awards is open to all journalists working in the print (including news agency), electronic and online media in the Northern, North East and Savannah regions.
He indicated that entries should cover works published from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, adding that entrants may submit entries for a maximum of two categories, and not more than two published works should be submitted for each category.
“Submission of entries begins from Friday, July 12, 2024 and ends on Friday, August 9, 2024 at 6pm. The GJA is not bound to give an award in a category if entries for that category do not merit the award,” he said.
The awards categories are Environmental Reporting, Development Journalism in Furthering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Health, Tourism and Culture, Disability, Sports Reporting, Agriculture, Road Safety, Energy and Electricity Reporting, Peace and Conflict Sensitive Reporting, Promising Young Female Regional Journalist of the Year (non-competitive), and Regional Journalist of the Year (to be selected from the winners).
BY Eric Kombat, Tamale