By Pinehas Nakaziko
WINDHOEK– Learners between 14 and 19 years are invited to participate in this year’s edition of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards Competition.
Interested learners are advised to write an essay or design a poster under the topic “Imagine you are a satellite, orbiting high above your own country or even above your own home or school” and to submit it before October 27. Manager: Public Relations and Communications of MultiChoice Namibia, Katrina Sikeni, says the awards are open to all learners from secondary and combined schools in Africa. She adds that the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards has been part of the ongoing partnership between MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat Communications since 1999. “This pan-African collaboration has over the years created meaningful engagement with students, the academic community and the scientific world. The competition has since its inception been geared towards encouraging learners to either write an essay or design a poster about the benefits of satellite technology on the continent. It has drawn over 3,000 entries across the continent and has invigorated a passion for science amongst the younger generation,” says Sikeni.
In Namibia, there will be four winners. One winner and runner up in Essay Competition and One winner and runner up in Poster Competition under one theme. The deadline for the competition is on October 27 and the four winners will be announced soon after the deadline. The four will join the rest of their counterparts from other African countries for the grand finale in Zambia next February. The winning country in the grand finale will receive exciting prizes. The overall essay and poster winners are eligible for a once in a lifetime trip for two to the Eutelsat facilities in Paris, with the essay winner travelling onwards to witness a live rocket launch. Runners up will win a trip to South Africa and will be guests of MultiChoice Africa as well. Schools from which the overall winners are will also receive a DStv installation that includes a dish, television set, state-of-the-art PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet, as part of the MultiChoice CSI initiative to create accessible information via the MultiChoice Resource Centres.
Entry forms for the awards can be obtained from the nearest MultiChoice offices countrywide or they can be downloaded from the www.dstvstarawards.com <http://www.dstvstarawards.com/> .
For further information, Sikeni can be contacted at 061 270 5250 or Katrina.Sikeni@na.multichoice.com.