Special Award Winner 2011: ShujaazFM
In 2011, the One World Media Special Award was given to ShujaazFM from Nairobi, Kenya. Three members of the team travelled to London to take part in a mini-fellowship and accept their award.
ShujaazFM (Heroes in Sheng - Kenya's youth slang) is a one-year-old, interactive multimedia project designed to inspire and motivate millions of young Kenyans to take action to improve their lives and engage with urgent practical issues that shape their future.
At its heart, ShujaazFM is a radio drama about four young Kenyans growing up and meeting life's many challenges. This story unfolds every day and every month simultaneously across an array of popular media, using exciting stories, accessible youth slang and high quality artwork, blurring the realities of FM radio and the internet with the imagined world of comics. This multiple approach offers audiences numerous ways to engage, to learn, to get involved, to share their voices, experiences and opinions, and to interact with the ShujaazFM characters as well as their peers across Kenya.
Three members of the Shujaaz team came to London to pick up their award, and take part in a mini-fellowship designed to offer some professional development in radio - click here to find out more.
Click here to see an interview with Alan Duncan MP, Minister for International Development at DFID, about ShujaazFM.
Click here to see an interview with Eunice Maina, who works on the ShujaazFM programme.
This award was judged by the Trustees of One World Media.
Award Presenter Richard Tynen, Thomson Foundation with Peter Paul Kades, Jon Snow, Eunice Maina and Rob Burnet
Also nominated in 2011:
In Tune for Life
Sierra Leone, Malawi, Kenya, DR Congo
In Tune for Life is a project helping musicians around the world improve the health of impoverished communities via their own music and video. They record, edit, mix and master songs from talented artists who write culturally adept songs about HIV, malaria, TB and other health risks, and related issues. These songs, and accompanying video and animations, then become free resources in their communities and countries of origin.
The Samfya Women Filmmakers' Initiative
Zambia
A grassroots women's fi lmmaking collective in rural Zambia, the Samfya Women Filmmakers Initiative tackles challenging topics such as AIDS and domestic violence in an environment where women's voices are rarely heard. All 23 women in the group in Northern Zambia were born into extreme poverty and most cannot read or write. Yet through the powerful medium of film, their stories are now being heard by thousands of people - in their own community, as well as around the globe.