Promasidor Nigeria Limited, organiser of the Promasidor Quill Awards for journalists, has called for entries for the 2015 edition of the awards.

Speaking at a media briefing recently, Andrew Enahoro, the company’s head of legal/public relations, said his organisation was committed to the Nigerian economy and as such promised that Promasidor will continue to recognise and reward excellence in the journalism profession because of the important role journalists play in the society.

According to him, Promasidor Quill Awards is committed to setting the pace on rewarding journalists based on merit for their work and not as a self-seeking approach to get accolades, but a professional platform of assessment, recognition and reward for outstanding journalistic work.

“We are committed to continue to grow the awards as a professional platform of assessment, recognition and reward for outstanding journalistic work. These awards seek to remind journalists of the importance of their role in society and to society, the need to encourage professionalism and appreciate outstanding work,” he said.

Enahoro also disclosed that just like last year, the 2015 edition overall winner will have the opportunity of being at the Thomson Foundation, United Kingdom, to hone his/her journalism skills.

He commended members of the media for their interest in the awards while also urging them to submit quality materials within the stipulated period for entries.

Enahoro also disclosed that the 2015 edition will feature seven categories – Best report on Nutrition, Best report on CSR and Industry, Best report on Education, Best report on Children, Future Writer of the Year, Brand Advocate of the Year and Best Photo Story of the Year.

“For each of the categories, there will be one prime winner. Winners from each of the categories with the exception of the winner of the Best Photo Story of the Year will be given high-end camera. The overall winner of all categories will proceed on a four week certificate course in Journalism at the highly acclaimed Thompson Foundation in the UK. In addition, winners will receive supplies of Promasidor products.”

He emphasised that participants should endeavour to specify clearly the award category entered for when filling the online form, adding that awards for all categories will be based on creativity, accuracy of facts, educational value, in-depth of research and analysis, quality of information and news worthiness.

Enahoro further stated that only stories published between May 2014 and April 2015, will qualify for entry for the 2015 edition.

All supporting documents attached to entries must be presented in two formats – the scanned copy of the published article and the Microsoft Word Document format of the original material. The first is to prove that it was published while the second is to enable legibility during assessment.

While welcoming journalists to the briefing, Olivier Thiry, managing director, Promasidor, said the company will continue to support professionalism in journalism in Nigeria.