In progress at UNHQ

PI/1017

DPI RADIO PROGRAMMES RECEIVE AWARDS IN NEW YORK FESTIVALS INTERNATIONAL RADIO COMPETITION

3 July 1997


Press Release
PI/1017


DPI RADIO PROGRAMMES RECEIVE AWARDS IN NEW YORK FESTIVALS INTERNATIONAL RADIO COMPETITION

19970703 Two radio programmes of the Department of Public Information (DPI) -- "The Child Sex Trade" and "A Story of War and Rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina" -- have won awards in the prestigious New York Festivals international radio competition.

"The Child Sex Trade", which won the Silver World Medal, is a four-part series that explores the global problems of commercial sexual exploitation of children. It discusses the causes of child sex trade and offers insights into successful prevention efforts as well as challenging problems.

"A Story of War and Rape in Bosnia and Herzegovina" chronicles the ordeals of two Bosnian women in the infamous Omarska Camp, their escape and their attempts to heal. The programme includes interviews with the two women and the producers who documented their plight in an award-winning film. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has recognized rape as a crime against humanity and has ordered the arrest of the man who has been identified as the women's rapist.

These two programmes were selected from some 2,000 entries received from more than 30 countries and competed against programmes produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC), Radio France International, Australian Broadcasting Corp., ESPN Radio and WGBH Radio. The New York Festivals radio competition was founded 40 years ago and is one of the major international radio competitions in the world.

The United Nations has been producing radio programmes since 1946, when DPI was given its mandate in resolution 13(I) of 13 February 1946, which stated, among other provisions, that "the United Nations cannot achieve the purposes for which it was created unless the peoples of the world are fully informed of its aims and activities". Today, United Nations Radio produces 27 radio programmes in 15 languages each week; these programmes are broadcast by 2,000 stations around the world.

For further information on United Nations radio programmes, contact the Audio-Visual Promotion and Distribution Unit, Room S-805A, tel. (212) 963- 6982.

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For information media. Not an official record.