Ghanaian student, others win top awards
A Ghanaian student, Ayawen Asuinura, has emerged winner of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards, essay category.
Advertisement
In the essay category, students were asked to interpret the quote by Socrates “Man must rise above the Earth to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” They were also to show how satellites help understand and take care of our planet.
For his prize, announced at a ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya, Asuinura will embark on a trip to Paris and onwards to witness a rocket blast into space to place a satellite into orbit.
This is the first win in the essay category for Ghana, as all the previous wins had come from the poster category. The awards were the fifth edition.
Sara Eribo from Equatorial Guinea emerged as the runner-up in the essay category and also won a trip for two to visit Multi Choice facilities and the South African National Space Agency, near Johannesburg.
In the poster category, Mallon Marume from Zimbabwe scooped the first prize for artistic creativity and will visit Eutelsat in Paris to understand how satellites are operated and piloted in space and the many ways they benefit users.
Benjamin Ibanda from Uganda was the runner-up in the same category.
The four winning schools attended by the overall award winners and runners-up were also rewarded with a DStv installation, including dish, TV sets, PVR decoders and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet.
Other Trending Stories
The Jury Chairman of the Awards, Mr Paolo Nespoli, said the quality and creativity of the finalists’ essays and artworks underscored the deep interest of Africa's young generation in science and technology.
The Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Mr Joe Mucheru, who gave the keynote address, said the Kenyan government was determined to promote holistic development of the country, with particular focus on leveraging science and technology in the delivery of services in all sectors of the economy, including ICT and education.
He added that it was gratifying to note the efforts made by both MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat in ensuring that interests and capacities in science and technology were nurtured and built.