BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)— The University of the West Indies (UWI) has earned two gold awards and one merit award for creativity, marketing execution and message impact in its public education/communication campaigns on climate action and the COVID-19 response.

The work produced by University Marketing and Communications—the regional University’s central Marketing and Communications office—was recognized at the recent 36th annual Educational Advertising Awards (EduADAwards).

Judged by a panel of higher education marketers, advertising creative directors, marketing and advertising professionals, the University Marketing and Communications Office’s 2020 work on a Leading Climate Action Special Report won a gold award in the E-Publication category. The UWI COVID-19 Task Force website, which was also conceptualized and managed by the Office secured gold in the COVID Response Materials category, while its Leading Climate Advocacy and Action website received a special merit award in the Website category.

The UWI competed in those categories with other top-ranked universities such as Johns Hopkins, Emory and University of Toronto, to name a few of this year’s recipients of the EduADAwards.

Commenting on the announcement of the award wins, the University Director, Marketing and Communications, Dr Rhonda Jaipaul-O’Garro described it as “a distinct honour to be able to vie with other top universities in spite of very modest staff resources and marketing budgets, and to have our work evaluated as outstanding and excellent by international standards in our profession”.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have earned these two gold awards and one merit award, especially in our pursuit of advancing our UWI brand as a global activist university in areas of critical importance—climate action and COVID-19 response,” she added.

Dr Jaipaul-O’Garro underscored the collaborative framework that made this all possible and recognized, in particular, the Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures, The UWI COVID-19 Task Force and the small project team that included a user-experience designer, content developers and graphic designer.

The UWI’s Leading Climate Action Special Report features the University’s research, teaching, advocacy, sustainable practices, and regional and international partnerships in support of the climate action agenda, reinforces the University’s centrality in the global agenda of sustainable development and particularly the science behind an urgent response to climate change.  The complementary Leading Climate Advocacy and Action Website repository bolsters the public advocacy/policy programme for this pressing concern of climate change, particularly within the perspective of the Caribbean reality.

The UWI COVID-19 Task Force Website is a central asset in the outreach programme of The UWI COVID-19 Task Force, formed in February 2020, to bring together the University’s knowledge and experts to assist the Caribbean in its response to the virus outbreak. The Task Force website provides trusted resources and regular updates, all relevant to the Caribbean’s response to the global COVID-19 pandemic to actively counter misinformation and speculation.

Presented by Higher Education Marketing Report, the leading marketing publication for higher education professionals in the US, the EduADAwards is the largest, oldest and most respected educational advertising awards competition in the country.

This year, more than 2,000 entries were received from over 1,000 colleges, universities and secondary schools from all 50 US states and several foreign countries.