The Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ), a non-profit company, has announced a three-year partnership with the Avbob Mutual Assurance Society as the main sponsor of the FCJ Annual Excellence Awards.
This was officially announced on 7 June.
Marietta Lombard, the FCJ’s executive director, says the generous sponsorship will go a long way in supporting and acknowledging the important role of community journalists in society.
“The FCJ commends Avbob for joining hands with us,” says Lombard.
“I would also like to thank fellow FCJ director and founding member of the community awards, Hugo Redelinghuys, who was involved in the initial discussions with Avbob on this new journey.”
According to Avbob, the partnership is informed by the importance of supporting community media as a crucial part of media development.
Community media is one of the growth areas in the media industry and plays a significant role in making available information and news to and about local communities, which are often not reached or well covered by traditional mainstream media.
“Building sustainable relationships with communities is important to us,” says Adriaan Bester, Avbob general manager for corporate affairs.
“The group is committed to investing in collaborative stakeholder relationships with both traditional and new media to support the important role of journalists in the country and promote access to information and understanding in society.”
The sponsorship agreement comes after two years during which the Covid-19 pandemic caused disruption. The FCJ’s annual awards had to be scaled down and postponed to avoid large gatherings.
A study by the Wits Journalism Department published in 2020 shows that although there has been an increase in community media in South Africa, funding and resource constraints still pose a significant challenge to its role as a source of news information for marginalised communities.
The FCJ and its annual awards are partially sponsored by Media24 and Caxton, the two major media houses that own most of the community newspapers in South Africa.
The awards were launched in 1990, and aim to encourage excellence and reward meritorious work in community journalism.
The awards will henceforth be known as the Avbob FCJ Annual Excellence Awards.
