PACJA to sponsor three African journalists to UN Climate Change Summit

ACCER Award winners at Gala Nite in Nairobi

Three overall winners of the 2014 African Climate Change and Environmental Reporting (ACCER) Awards will enjoy an all-expense paid trip to cover the 20th Session of the UN Summit on Climate Change in Lima, Peru later this year.

The cost will be covered by organizers of the Awards, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and partners.

The winners include Patrick Mayoyo from Kenya, Arison Tamfu from Cameroon and Kofi Adu Domfeh from Ghana.

These are among five African journalists declared winners of the 2nd ACCER Awards held in Nairobi, Kenya on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA).

Diane Nininahazwe of Burundi Radio Ijwi ry'amahoro was the overall winner in the radio category in French while Kofi Adu Domfeh of Luv Fm in Ghana won in the radio category in English. Arison Tamfu from Cameroon was the overall winner in the print category while Patrick Mayoyo won in the online category and in the television category Zeynab Wandati emerged the overall winner.

The runners-up in the print category were Greg Odogwu from Nigeria and Bob Koigi from Kenya while in the Radio category the runners up were Wambi Michael from Uganda and Jacob Safari from Kenya. In the online category, the runners up were Violet Nakamba from Zambia and Busani Bafana from Zimbabwe.

Other runners up were Rose Wangui from Kenya and Noela Luka from Kenya in TV category while Didier Hubert Madafime from Benin and Gabriel Adonou from Togo emerged runners up in the radio category in French.

All winners, out of the 309 entries, received cash prizes, trophies and certificates.

The entries were audited and judged by a panel of seven judges headed by Dr. Barrack Muluka, who at the Gala Night appealed to PACJA to partner with Media organizations, learning institutions and experts to improve the level of writing and communication skills amongst African journalists on climate change and environment.

PACJA secretary general Mithika Mwenda said the Alliance will continue to play a major role in nurturing innovative ideas necessary to effectively confront the main challenges of 21st century.

'These complex challenges such as climate change will require collaboration from various stakeholders to defeat and that is the spirit the ACCER Awards exemplifies,' he said.

Mithika said the ACCER Awards partnership strengthens the trust between the civil society and the governments in Africa.

'Indeed, this resonates with the UN call for collaboration to defeat the challenges of climate change,' he added.

African countries remain the greenest on earth yet vulnerable to climate change caused by emissions of developed countries.

Whilst countries in Africa look at the challenges posed by climate change of socio-economic development, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) says it would also be necessary for the continent to explore opportunities therein.

UNEP's Director of the Africa Regional Office, Mounkaila Goumandakoye, is emphatic on renewable energy as an area to explore.