News

FPE Announces Inaugural Year of Sarihay Media Awards

As part of its commitment to engaging public awareness and involvement as it enters its 22nd year of operation, the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) introduced the Sarihay Media Awards to members of the local media during a press conference held last January 15, 2014 at the Philippine Social Science Council in Diliman, Quezon City.

The award’s name comes from the Filipino phrase, “Samu’t Saring Buhay” (diversity of life), which aptly describes the ecological concept of biodiversity, which FPE constantly strives to promote, protect, and preserve. As such, the Sarihay Media Awards have been designed with the intention to inspire, acknowledge, and reward the responsible coverage of important environmental and sustainable development concerns in Philippine print, broadcast, and online media.

“FPE will be working with various environmental partners in the civil society and government to ensure that we are to select the best environmental news coverage that captures pressing environmental issues and possible solutions,” said Mr. Godofredo T. Villapando, Jr., Executive Director of FPE. He added that the Foundation hopes that “the awards will help further professionalize environmental reporting by the media and encourage them to delve more into environmental issues or concerns triggering discourses and actions toward resolving them.”

With a total of ten distinct awards distributed across five categories (namely, Print, TV, Radio, Photojournalism, and Blog/Online), FPE’s Sarihay Media Awards aim to encourage members of the local media to increase coverage of environmental issues for the benefit of better public awareness and enhanced interest in supporting the cause of biodiversity conservation and sustainable, community-driven development. Entries must cover biodiversity conservation, environmental education, environmental governance, indigenous ecological knowledge systems and practices, renewable energy, climate change, mining, and other development challenges.

The competition is open to all Filipino media practitioners and will accept entries that are published or aired within the period covering February 1, 2014 until September 30, 2014. Grand prize winners for each of the categories will be rewarded with a plaque from FPE, cash prizes from FPE partners and donors, and an all-expense-paid learning visit to an FPE-supported project site. They will also be recognized during the Foundation’s 23rd anniversary on January 15, 2015.

Interested entrants may visit the FPE website starting February 1, 2014 to access more general rules and competition guidelines.

Update (2/3/2014): The competition is now officially open. For those interested to join, please click here for the official announcement, as well as links to the contest rules and mechanics, entry form, and campaign poster.