UNDPI TELEVISION PROGRAMMING AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED ON 27 JANUARY

Note to Correspondents

UNDPI TELEVISION PROGRAMMING AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED ON 27 JANUARY

Documentaries on Famine in Niger ; Tin Extraction

In Democratic Republic of Congo ; Genocide in Rwanda to Receive Awards

Broadcasting companies from the United Kingdom and the United States will be honoured for television documentaries on Friday, 27 January 2005, when the UNDPI Awards are presented at the Television Programming and Promotion Awards Ceremony in New York City. Raymond Sommereyns, Director of the Outreach Division in the Department of Public Information, will present the awards.

The awards, jointly sponsored by the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) and The New York Festivals, recognize television programming on issues of importance to the United Nations.

This year’s Gold UNDPI Award goes to BBC TV News ( United Kingdom) for Niger, a news report in July 2006 on the widespread famine in Niger, especially in the southern part of the country, and the need for action by the international community to stop the starvation.

The Silver Award will be presented to ITN ( United Kingdom) for Congo’s Tin Soldiers, a report on the thousands of miners in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, risking their lives to harvest casseterite (tin), an ore used in electronic components.

The winner of the Bronze Award is the History Channel ( United States) for Rwanda: Do Scars Ever Fade?, a news documentary exploring the 100-year history of the country and how it contributed to the genocide in 1994.

The New York Festivals, founded in 1957, oversee six international awards competitions: in film and video; television programming and promotions; radio programming and promotions; television and radio advertising; design and print advertising; and interactive media.

For information, please call Isabelle Broyer (212) 963-9480.

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For information media • not an official record