USAID/Bulgaria Continues Media Competition

April 3, 2007  

USAID continues to invite and encourage the Bulgarian journalists to participate in a USAID-sponsored competition for national and regional media outlets for coverage about the results of the U.S.-Bulgaria partnership and development assistance.  Since 1990, the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have provided more than $600 million in financial and technical assistance to Bulgaria.  Thanks to the cooperation and hard work of Bulgarian counterparts, there are many examples of how this assistance has helped ordinary Bulgarians. 

The competition is for the most informative and objective reports on one of the following topics: 
• The impact of USAID assistance in a particular city or region in Bulgaria
• The impact of USAID assistance in one of the priority areas of USAID’s work in Bulgaria:
1) Rule of Law (judicial reform, legal profession development)
2) Economic Growth and Restructuring (commercial law reform, business development, labor market reform, financial sector reform, energy sector reform)
3) Local Governance (decentralization, community programs, interethnic relations)
• The impact of current or past USAID programs in other areas (examples: humanitarian assistance, pension reform, environmental protection)

First, second and third prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories (18 total prizes):
1) National media: TV, radio and print
2) Regional media: TV, radio and print

Winning journalists will be invited to participate in a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy, where trophy awards recognizing and honoring their commitment to the U.S.-Bulgaria partnership will be presented by Ambassador John Beyrle. 

Journalists from all print and electronic media in Bulgaria may participate in the competition.  Materials should be published or broadcast between January 1, 2007 and June 1, 2007.  A copy of the published/broadcasted material should be submitted to USAID/Bulgaria as soon as possible after publication/broadcasting and no later than June 15, 2007.  Entries will be judged by a panel with representatives from USAID, the US Embassy, and the Broadcast Training Center. Results will be announced by July 3, 2007.

Please note that materials produced under a USAID-funded grant program are not eligible for submission. 

Queries regarding additional information and submission of materials should be addressed to Jennifer Croft at 939-5743 (jcroft@usaid.gov) or Vera Petkantchin at 939-5759 (vpetkantchin@usaid.gov).

Tel: (359-2) 937-5101
Fax: (359-2) 939-5791
www.usaid.gov
http://bulgaria.usaid.gov/