Seychellois broadcaster wins top SADC prize
Radio broadcaster Anna Ah-Wan from the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation has won first prize in a documentary competition held as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, which ended last week in Windhoek, Namibia.
She was presented with her $2,000 prize at a ceremony on Monday in the Vice-President’s Office as she was unable to collect it in person at the summit.
Vice-President Danny Faure, who led the delegation in Namibia, made the presentation and said he was incredibly proud to have Seychellois talent recognised at the summit.
The theme for the competition was Water in the SADC Region, and Ms Ah-Wan submitted one programme from a 13-part series titled Water Is Life, which was broadcast in Seychelles last year.
“I am thrilled I won. It’s not about the money but rather about the award itself,” she said.
“After 17 years in broadcasting it’s amazing to be recognised for my work, especially as this is the first time Seychelles has entered this competition, let alone won it.”
Beryl Samson, director-general of development and regional integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was at the SADC summit and collected the prize on Ms Ah-Wan’s behalf.
“It was a very special moment for the Seychelles delegation to hear a fellow Seychellois called out as the first prize winner above all the other submissions,” said Ms Samson.
“It was a great privilege and honour to receive the award on behalf of Ms Ah-Wan from the outgoing SADC chairperson, Joseph Kabila Kabange, and in the presence of all SADC heads of state.
“Ms Ah-Wan did Seychelles proud as a new and smallest member of the community. We trust Seychelles will continue along the same path and show the region that despite our size we are committed to the aspirations and goals of the SADC and we can still make a mark at international level.”
The Water Is Life feature, Ms Ah-Wan explained, came about thanks to another prize which she won in 2008 when she submitted a proposal for her documentary to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and was subsequently awarded a £2,000 travel bursary with which to conduct her research.
The feature focused on water conservation and management in Seychelles and Maldives, with special reference to the effects of climate change and population growth.
The segment she submitted to the SADC was an over-arching look at both countries and the desalination technology that is taking over, particularly in Maldives which suffered a lot of damage in the 2004 tsunami and where they no longer have access to groundwater.
Ms Ah-Wan said she hoped this will be the start of many more wins for Seychelles and that her success will motivate others to enter broadcasting and make the most of such opportunities, especially as the SADC has already started asking for more submissions for next year.
She said her success was due to the support she received from her previous radio programmes manager Jacqueline Moustache-Belle and from the previous SBC head of production Larrey Chetty, who guided her through the project with their experience and motivation so she was able to raise her standard of work.
Ms Ah-Wan added that special thanks is also due to her present manager, Jude Louange, who continued with that same spirit of support as she finished her research and documentary.
Source: NATION 8-25-10