Website and soap opera produced by UN agencies win top awards

A website of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) focussing on unprotected children and a soap opera produced by the UN refugee agency promoting tolerance in Côte d’Ivoire, directed by a Rwandan refugee, have won top prizes in their categories in festivals in New York and Abidjan, respectively.

UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2006 website will be awarded a “Webby” prize at ceremonies to take place tomorrow in New York City, and “The Birthday,” one of twelve episodes developed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as part of a tolerance campaign, won the Audience Award in the features category at the 7th international short film festival of Abidjan (FICA).

“This Webby Award reflects the commitment and dedication of the men and women of UNICEF who work on behalf of the world’s children,” said Stephen Cassidy, Chief of UNICEF’s Internet, Broadcast and Image Section.

The UNICEF website won the People’s Voice Award of the Webby, the leading international honour for websites, through the votes of over 200,000 members of the global online community, after having been nominated by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

“The Birthday,” directed by Joseph Mouganga, also won through popular acclamation with the audience in Abidjan voting it best film among entries from 20 African countries.

“When refugees win such a prize, it means that we are loved by the host population,” said Mr. Mouganga. “I am convinced that the audience has understood the message.”

The soap opera series of which Mr. Mouganga’s film forms one episode, called “Résidence Akwaba,” consists of 12 half-hour episodes focusing on the daily life, joy and problems of foreigners and migrants in Côte d’Ivoire and their interaction with the local population.

The series will be launched in Abidjan on World Refugee Day, 20 June, and will run on Ivorian television throughout the summer.