The 22nd meeting of the Regional Adjudication Committee (RAC) on the SADC Media Awards competitions for 2017 was held in Ezulwini, Swaziland from 19th–24th June, 2017. The meeting was attended by adjudicators from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Acting Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology for the Kingdom of Swaziland, Mr. Bhekithemba Gama officially welcomed the delegates. In his opening remarks he mentioned that it is important to recognize the significance of the media in promoting the SADC agenda and that rewarding best stories goes a long way in encouraging good journalism in the SADC region which leads to promotion of regional integration.
The Chairperson of SADC, His Majesty King Mswati III, will present the SADC Media Awards to the winners during the 37th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government to be held in the Republic of South Africa in August 2017 in the categories of photo, television, radio and print.
During the meeting, RAC also amended the Media Awards competition Guidelines and Rules with the aim of ensuring adherence to the competition rules and credibility of entries.
RAC members, who are mostly the SADC National Media Coordinators in their respective Member States, also reviewed the implementation of the activities of the SADC Communication and Promotional Strategy and made commitment to continue to intensify promotion of the SADC mandate, among other things, sharing information between member states.
