The deadline for the Voices4Climate TerrAfrica podcast category has passed, with a total of 33 podcasts submitted from 11 African countries! A heartfelt thank you to all the participants who worked so hard to submit their radio stories on time. With so many great submissions in this category, it is going to be quite a challenge to select the winners. Fortunately, our roster of superstar judges are more than up to the task.
If you did not, or were unable to meet the deadline for the TerrAfrica podcast category, worry not. You still have plenty of time to submit your entry for the photo, video, and music video categories. The deadline for the Voices4Climate global competition is December 31, 2012. So go shoot it, sing it, tape it and enter today!
The Juri
Without further delay, here is the list of esteemed judges who have the tough job of selecting the winners of the TerrAfrica podcast category:
Dr. Paola Agostini is a Senior Economist in the Africa Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank and the Program Coordinator for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and TerrAfrica. She is in charge of coordinating projects in Africa financed by the GEF dealing with Biodiversity, Climate Change, Land Degradation, Sustainable Forest Management, International Water, and Chemicals. She is also coordinating the TerrAfrica Partnership - a program to promote sustainable land and water management to reach multiple benefits in Africa of improving livelihood, mitigation, adaptation and conservation.
She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California San Diego, and a Masters in Social Sciences from Universita Bocconi, Milan, Italy. She lived in Haiti, Mozambique and Mali where she worked for the United Nations and has also worked for Universita Bocconi in Italy and for GRETA, an econometric think-tank.
Georges Collinet has over 38 years of experience as a film and video producer, journalist, and radio personality in the United States, Europe, and Africa. He hosts the highly successful and award-winning weekly Public Radio broadcast, Afropop Worldwide heard in the United States, Europe and Africa. Afropop was recently named best World Music radio program in the United States. For 35 years, Mr. Collinet has worked with the Voice of America and the Television and Film Service of the United States Information Agency and the International Broadcasting Bureau, attracting daily listening audiences of over 110 million people per show. His work also includes filming documentaries, directing television series, and media training. He is currently producing a series of podcasts for the World Bank called On the Move.
Rocky Dawuni has leveraged his popularity across the African continent to bring his unique Afro Roots sound to global audiences and champion social causes. Over the course of his career, and the release of five albums, his infectious grooves and dance-inducing anthems have consistently excited fans, including some of musics biggest stars with whom hes performed and collaborated. Having appeared at many of the biggest World and Reggae music events, Dawuni has worked alongside superstars Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Jason Mraz, Sharon Jones, and Janelle Monae.
Dawunis activism reached new heights when he was recently invited to meet with Ghanas top leaders on a broad range of issues and was appointed the countrys Tourism Ambassador and World Music Ambassador for MUSIGA (Musicians Union of Ghana). He was just announced as an Ambassador for the UN Foundations Global Alliance For Clean Cookstoves, joining ambassadors Julia Roberts and Chef Jose Andres to raise awareness. These efforts are in addition to his ongoing involvement with Product (RED), UNICEF, the Carter Center & the UN Foundation. In 2012, Rocky was also chosen by CNN as one of the top ten African musicians alongside Youssou NDour and Cesaria Evora and was featured on CNNs African Voices. See our full post on Rocky Dawuni on our Facebook page.
Cedella Marley is an accomplished singer, author, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. The first-born of Bob and Rita Marley, she has combined her multifaceted creativity with her family legacy to champion causes such as reducing maternal mortality, access to safe drinking water, and protecting the environment.
The world first met Cedella as a singing and dancing teenager with The Melody Makers, the Marley sibling group which, over two decades, has sold millions of albums and won three Grammy Awards. Cedella continues to record and is currently at work on her debut album, produced by her brothers Ziggy and Stephen. Cedella balances the responsibilities of motherhood (she and her husband have three sons) with the management of the Marley familys numerous business endeavors and the demands of designing her celebrated womens casual wear collection Catch A Fire. She is the CEO of Tuff Gong International, the record label founded by her father in 1965 and director of The Bob Marley Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization. She oversees Hope Road Merchandising, LLC, a Marley family entity that manages the rights to Bobs name and likeness, and the Marley merchandising conglomerate House of Marley. Cedella also helms 1Love.org, the familys recently launched social networking/charity foundation which is working to channel the energy of Bob Marleys 37 million Facebook friends into positive work and charitable causes. See our full post on Cedella Marley on our Facebook page.
Dr. Shaka Ssali is a Ugandan-born American journalist. As host of VOA's popular show Straight Talk Africa, Shaka is one the most recognized media personalities on the continent. Ssali holds a doctorate in cross-cultural communication and history from the University of California Los Angeles and is a former Ford Foundation Fellow. He has received numerous honors, including a United Nations Peacekeeping Special Achievement Award in International Journalism.
Florent Kossivi Tiassou is a Togo-born science journalist, trainer, and consultant based in Bonn, Germany. He trains journalists from all countries of West Africa and is specialized in environment and sustainable land management (SLM) issues. Tiassou initiated the training of rural radio journalists in the broadcast and dissemination of SLM best practices and is in charge of the Green Radio World. As a journalist, he specializes in environment-related reporting and programs for German Public Radios Deutsche Welle.
