4 journos receive Dhaka Ahsania Mission anti-tobacco fellowship award

Four journalists have received fellowship awards in anti-tobacco journalism from Dhaka Ahsania Mission.

The names of the journalists – Masud Rumee (Kaler Kantho), Dolar Mehedi (71 TV), Jannatul Ferdous Panna (Amader Natun Somoy) and Md Akhtaruzzaman (Amader Orthoniti) – were announced at a virtual event Wednesday, reports UNB.

Lead Policy Advisor of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Bangladesh Md Mostafizur Rahman presided over the programme.

Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Md Mokbul Hossain was the chief guest and Zafar Wazed, director general of the Press Institute of Bangladesh, was a special guest at the ceremony.

Md Mokbul Hossain congratulated the awardees and called upon them to prepare and publish regular reports, emphasising the amendment of the existing tobacco control laws.

Zafar Wazed said, “Journalists are doing a lot to raise public awareness amid the pandemic. I believe their anti-tobacco activities will continue to generate public opinion and the government will step forward to amend the Tobacco Control Act to protect public health.”

In April this year, Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s Tobacco Control Project called for applications from the media professionals for fellowships in anti-tobacco journalism with the theme “amendment of the law is a necessity to build a tobacco-free Bangladesh.”

After preliminary selection, 25 journalists participated in a workshop. Next, 21 reports of 14 journalists were published. Of those, four reports were selected as the best and the reporters were given fellowship awards.

Fellowship awardees will receive a certificate and prize money of Tk20,000. The other participants who submitted the report will also receive certificates, according to the Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s Tobacco Control Project.