Sharda Ganga (left) of Stichting Projekta, a Surinamese NGO working in the field of sustainable human development, collects her UNFPA Platinum Award (television) for her production 'Wan Lobi Tori', a love story which looked at issues of stigma and discrimination and living with HIV/AIDS. Making the presentation is Wendy Fitzwilliam, UNFPA goodwill ambassador. (Photo: Karl McLarty)

The Caribbean office of the United Nations Population Fund Tuesday night honoured six journalists from three of the 21 countries that the organisation represents in the region, at the 2005 Caribbean Media Awards at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.

UNFPA representative Harold Robinson said that the theme of the awards - "Gender Equality, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals" - was the focus for 2005 as the organisation believed that attaining gender equality was critical to the objective of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life of the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.

"The objective of the Caribbean Media Awards is to encourage and promote leadership and excellence in Caribbean media practitioners in covering these issues that are so vital to poverty reduction and sustainable development," he said.

"We encourage our media partners to seek out more stories that deal with gender inequality and HIV/AIDS and present them so that we can begin to effect the change of negative gender attitudes and relieve our women of the harmful effects of gender inequities," said Robinson.

He lauded the awardees for their attempt at fostering a better understanding of such issues which he said would ultimately contribute to building stronger families, communities and countries.

Sharda Ganga from Suriname, Cedriann Martin from Trinidad and Tobago and Carol Francis, Damion Mitchell, Sonja Simms and Eulalee Thompson from Jamaica were the winners, whose submitted work brought issues of importance, notably the HIV/AIDS pandemic, into regional focus.

The UNFPA Caribbean office has been at the forefront of creative, innovative policies/programmes regarding the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and young people that are rights-based and gender-sensitive and has provided support to the region since 1969, being the largest international source of population assistance.

Minister Grange tours new BBC studios

Guinness Sounds of Greatness creating a dancehall for everyone

Tarrus Riley shoots video for Start Anew