The Commonwealth on April 1 welcomed its first ever Secretary-General from south Asia, as former Indian diplomat Kamalesh Sharma took office.

Sharma began work immediately, meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama. The meeting was a precursor to Sharma's scheduled attendance at the Commonwealth Youth Ministers' Meeting in Colombo on April 27-30.

Sharma was appointed to the post in November 2007 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda. He takes over from Don McKinnon, who stepped down when his eight-year tenure ended on March 31.

Sharma previously served as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he was closely involved in Commonwealth activities. In that capacity, since 2004 he has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation.

For more information on the new Secretary-General, go to www.commonwealth.org.

Harry Wilson - CPU

Three print journalists in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have been recognised for their outstanding potential and named as the first winners of the new David Astor Journalism Awards.

The winners are Murithi Mutiga, 25, from the daily Metro in Kenya, Valentine Marc Nkwame, 34, from the Arusha Times in Tanzania and Tabu Butagira, 28, from the Monitor in Uganda.

The three were selected from a field of 51 locally nominated candidates in a rigorous assessment process spanning nine months. Two independent judges chose the winners after interviewing three finalists each in Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam in late January.

The key purpose of the awards is to help develop the capacity of exceptionally able early- career journalists to assume future leading roles in the profession.

Each winner will initially take part in a three-month professional development programme tailored to their needs and interests, working with experienced outside journalists, and then become career-long members of the David Astor Journalism Awards peer-support network. They also each received a token cash award of $500.

Nominations for other new candidates will be accepted starting in April 2008.

The David Astor Journalism Awards Trust was formed in 2005. It is named in honour of the renowned editor of the Observer newspaper in London for 27 years, from 1948 to 1975, who was a lifelong champion of human rights and African development. He died in 2001.

For more information contact Jim Meyer on +44 (0)20 7424 0049 or at jim.meyer@dajat.org.

Harry Wilson - CPU

The Rajasthan Patrika Group is glad to announce the Karpoor Chandra Kulish Award 2007 (KCK Award 2007).

This annual award, in the hallowed memory of Karpoor Chand Kulish, is open to those who have authored and published the most compelling write-ups in print media contributing to changing the lives and meeting the aspirations of people. The award theme for year 2007 shall be "Human Development".

Click here to find out more. (Microsoft Word)

(Harry Wilson - CPU)

The Rajasthan Patrika newspaper has launched an international award recognising excellence in print journalism and is currently accepting entries.

The Karpoor Chandra Kulish Award 2007 is open to those who have authored and published the most compelling stories contributing to changing the lives and meeting the aspirations of people. "We seek to honor journalists who covered events of people's struggle for a life of dignity, fulfillment and honor," the paper said in a statement about the award.

"We expect the contributions to represent manifestation of man's unique spirit and goodness of life. They shall also depict strong focus on showcasing self-governance leading to effective social change," the paper said.

The theme for the 2007 award is 'Human Development'. The winner will receive US$11,000 as a prize. The award is open to print journalists from across the world but only stories produced by a team of journalists will be considered.

An independent team of journalists is invited to send a maximum of two entries. A publication may have two entries from every print centre. All entries must have been previously published in a daily newspaper on or after Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec.31, 2007.

Deadline for entry is Jan. 31, 2008. Entries must have been published in a daily.

For more details go to www.rajasthanpatrika.com/kckaward or email kckaward@rajasthanpatrika.com.

Harry Wilson - CPU

The BBC are running a series of audio documentaries entitled 'Tales from the Commonwealth.'

In this four-part series, broadcasters from Guyana, Mozambique, St Lucia and Papua New Guinea show us round their country's capitals, introduce us to local personalities, and talk about the issues they feel most strongly about. Click here for more.

Broadcasters and independent filmmakers from across the five regions of the Commonwealth are invited to submit initial entries for the Commonwealth Vision Awards by providing a written scenario for a short film, between 30-90 seconds in length.

See www.rcsint.org/vision for details.

Harry Wilson - CPU

The Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF) is accepting applications from print journalists for our 2008 program until August 15, 2007.

Successful candidates will report for American news organisations from March-August, 2008.

Applicants for all fellowships must meet the following minimum criteria:

• Current full-time employment as a journalist for the news or editorial department of independent newspapers, wire services, online publications, or magazines of general public interest in a developing country;
• At least three years of professional experience as a journalist in the print or online media;
• Citizenship of a developing country;
• Early to mid-career status and between 25 and 35 years old;
• A demonstrated personal commitment to a career in journalism in a developing country;
• Ability and desire to share what is learned on the fellowship with journalists at home;
• Endorsement from the management of the home publication;
• An excellent command of written and spoken English.

Since 1984, AFPF has provided training opportunities to approximately ten journalists annually. It is hoped that through such training, Fellows will learn practices, standards and values of U.S. journalism which they can adapt, share and apply in their own countries.

In addition to our general fellowships, AFPF offers specialised fellowships by topic and region, including business, education, health, investigations, religion, as well as the Daniel Pearl Fellowships which are offered to journalists who come from areas that Daniel Pearl covered as a journalist - South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

Those receiving specialised fellowships partake in activities related to their interests. For the Daniel Pearl Fellowships, those activities are in line with the mission of the Daniel Pearl Foundation - to encourage dialogue among people of different cultures, reduce cultural and religious hatred and create a platform for responsible and creative journalism.

For more information and downloadable application forms, please send inquiries to: info@pressfellowships.org or go to www.pressfellowships.org.

Harry Wilson - CPU

Papua New Guinea news media executive Joseph Ealedona has been named president amidst sweeping changes in the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) leadership.

Ealedona - managing director of PNG's National Broadcasting Corporation - was elected unanimously during the biennial general meeting of the regional news media body, which was this year held in the Solomon Islands.

2005-2007 president Ken Clark, general manager commercial of Fiji Television, did not seek reelection.

Ealedona, whose background is in journalism, is the first Papua New Guinea president of PINA, the region's main news media body.

With veteran Vanuatu journalist and news executive Jonas Cullwick elected vice-president, it returns the top two positions in PINA to people with a news background.

Only Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited editor Matai Akauola remains from the former executive.

The next biennial PINA convention was unanimously awarded to Vanuatu,and will be held in Port Vila in July 2009.

The new PINA executive board are:

President: Joseph Ealedona, managing director, National Broadcasting Corporation, Papua New Guinea

Vice-president: Jonas Cullwick, longtime journalist and former Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation general manager.

Head of national associations industry group: Cherelle Jackson, secretary, Journalists Association of Samoa.

Head of print media industry group: Moses Stevens, editor and publisher, the Ni Vanuatu newspaper.

Head of television industry group: Antoine Malsungai, manager, Television blong Vanuatu.

Harry Wilson - CPU