The call for the award was made by ECORED, with the support of CEPM and CESPM, InterEnergy companies in the country. The winners are Marvin del Cid and Mariela Mejía, of Diario Libre, in first and third place, respectively, while the second place went to Panky Corcino, from the weekly newspaper El Dinero.
SANTO DOMINGO .- The Red Nacional de Apoyo Empresarial a la Protección Ambiental (ECORED), together with the Consorcio Energético Punta Cana – Macao (CEPM) and the Compañía de Electricidad de San Pedro de Macorís (CESPM) announced this Wednesday the winners of the second edition of the Environmental Journalism Award, 2016-2017 edition.
The journalist Marvin del Cid, of the newspaper Diario Libre, was the winner of the first place for the report “Drones and manatees” published on July 30, 2017. The second place was awarded to the journalist Panky Corcino, of the weekly newspaper El Dinero, for the work “Pez parrot, an ally of tourism under threat” published on June 26, 2017. While the third place was obtained by journalist Mariela Mejía, of Diario Libre, for the report “The neighborhood that grew on an” island “improvised in Nagua riverbed “, published on August 15, 2017.
The winners received cash prizes of RD $ 200 thousand, RD $ 100 thousand and RD $ 50 thousand, corresponding to the first, second and third place, respectively. Additionally, the winner of the first place will participate in “Latin America Recycles: Regional Summit of Inclusive Recycling Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean”, which will take place in Bogota, Colombia on March 13 and 14, 2018, as well as in the workshop ” Investigate garbage “that will be dictated by the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI) from Monday 12 to Saturday, March 17 of next year, in the same city. The first place will cover travel expenses thanks to the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling (IRR).
For the second edition of the contest, the print and digital press category participated. The call was open until August 31, 2017 and they could opt for the prize works published as of May 1, 2016 in Dominican media of communal, national or regional scope in the Dominican Republic, whether written or digital press.
When leading the award ceremony, the president of ECORED, Rafael Izquierdo, argued that environmental journalism plays a fundamental role in raising awareness, awareness and training of citizens to influence changes in behaviors facing the challenges of today’s world. “The Environmental Journalism Award is an initiative to motivate research in this field with a view to creating greater awareness in society about the situation of the environment and the actions necessary to achieve sustainable development.”
The chief executive of the sponsoring companies of the award, Roberto Herrera, said that for the InterEnergy companies in the country, CEPM and CESPM, the environment is a fundamental axis in the Social Responsibility efforts. “The Public Sector – Private Sector synergy is essential to achieve results in the fight for environmental protection. These efforts are more effective when the media echoes them, supporting good practices and pointing out the opportunities for improvement that force us to move to change, “he said.
The Executive Director of ECORED, María Alicia Urbaneja, thanked the jury for the support offered to the second edition of the Environmental Journalism Prize. He noted that the jury was made up of Elvira Lora, journalist and director of the career of Social Communication of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM); Omar Ramírez, Environmental Advisor to the Executive Branch and Coordinator of the CDEEE-Renewable Program; and Sixto Incháuestegui, member of the Board of Directors of Grupo Jaragua, an NGO dedicated to contributing to the sustainable management of biodiversity.