UNFPA-Laadli National Creative Excellence Awards calls for entries

The last date for receiving entries is January 30, 2008

Population First, a Mumbai based NGO working on population and health issues within the framework of women’s rights and social development, has announced the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Laadli National Awards for Creative Excellence for Social Change. These awards specifically target the social issue of female foeticide and falling sex ratio in the country. The last date for receiving entries is January 30, 2008.

Laadli is the name of a girl child campaign in Mumbai.

The categories for the awards include TVCs; slogans, lyrics and songs; print ads and cartoons; posters and outdoor media; photography; and innovative merchandise materials. The jury panel for the awards includes well known advertising professionals such as AP Parigi, MG Parameswaran, Pranesh Misra, Mohammed Khan, Pradeep Guha, Priti Nair and Ramesh Narayan.

UNFPA-Laadli National Creative Excellence Awards calls for entries

Preeti Gopalkrishnan, communications executive, Population First, says, “It is a little known fact that in Asia, at least 60 million girls are ‘missing’ due to prenatal sex selection, foeticide or neglect. Delhi has a (female) sex ratio of 865 and Mumbai, 898, (per 1,000 boys), which is much below the national ratio of 927 (per 1,000 boys). Mumbai alone has recorded a fall of 32 points in the last decade from 930 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 to 898 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001. The awards will aim to create a people’s movement against the practice of sex selection by providing communication support to ongoing campaigns on the issue across the country.”

The awards are open to creative professionals from any organisation and also to freelance professionals. Entries may include unpublished or not aired material as well.

Population First is holding another awards show, called the UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards, which targets the issue of gender sensitivity and celebrates the commendable efforts by various media at providing gender-just perspectives, portrayals and analysis. It has closed its entries and will announce the results for the West on December 19. Population First will hold separate UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards for the North, East and the South in the first three months of 2008.

The organisation will announce the best entries from each region for the UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards and the winners of the UNFPA-Laadli National Awards for Creative Excellence at a national awards show to be held in March 2008.

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