Science in Africa wins top journalism award
 The
South African based Science in Africa magazine won a top award in African
journalism at the Highway Africa conference in Grahamstown, South Africa, last
month.
According to the organisers of this event, the Highway Africa Awards for the Innovative use of New Media in Africa have
been running since 2000, and are the premier awards recognising excellence in
new media in Africa.
Science in Africa magazine is a free, popular science magazine published
monthly on the Internet at www.scienceinafrica.co.za.
The magazine is read in over 90 countries by scientists and non-scientists alike
and receives over 12 000 hits per day. Science in Africa has been running for
three years and has become an important resource for science news and
information in Africa. Anchor sponsors of the site include Merck, Sasol and
SAASTA.
The magazine is run by its founders, Dr Janice Limson and Garth Cambray, both
active scientists based at Rhodes University. According to Limson and Cambray,
"winning this prestigious award recognizes the efforts of African
scientists and journalists to bring science more understandably to the general
public".
Judges were impressed by the magazine's content, site design and fast
download time. Roland Stanbridge, a journalism lecturer at the University of
Stockholm, and one of the judges, said scientific research is a big problem in
Africa, "because the information resides in expensive databases that the
Third World cannot access".
The awards are more than a simple web-design award, they are designed to
recognise creative problem-solving and innovative ideas in all areas of media
and technology in Africa. Awards are given in three categories:
individual/student, non-profit and corporate.
The other two awards given at the ritzy SABC Innovative Awards 2003 ceremony,
which was televised live on SABC Africa from Grahamstown's Settler's Monument,
went to an to an Egyptian newspaper and to an online book about the Atlantic slave trade,
which bridges the gap from the traditional print medium.
More information:
Highway Africa www.highwayafrica.org.za
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