The journalists were hailed for their outstanding efforts to use their voices and skills to expand awareness and deepen understanding, transparency and innovation of intellectual property (IP) in Africa.

This was at the inaugural African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) IP Journalist Awards held in Lesotho at the weekend. Botswana’s Gosego Motsumi took first place, while journalists from Nation Media Group (NMG) Uganda, Bamuturaki Musinguzi and Kenya’s Sinda Matiko were awarded for coming second and third respectively.

Musinguzi says, “I was honored to be among the winners of the inaugural edition. I hope that these awards will go a long way towards improving IP uptake and reporting in Africa.” Musinguzi’s winning articles are ‘What Koshen’s copyright infringement victory means’ and ‘Copyright shutdown cripples Ugandan arts’ which were published in this newspaper on ‘9 September 2023 and 8 April 2023 respectively .

Matiko’s articles titled “Content Creation Minting cash on intellectual property rights tightrope” and “Artists now beating cash from copyright and patent violations” won her the award, while Motsumi’s winning articles are “Botswana Women are making progress in the Intellectual Property Sphere” and “Botswana IP Status: Huge Growth But Weak Commercialization”.

The overall winner receives $3,000, second place winner $2,000 and third place winner $1,000. The ARIPO IP Journalists Award seeks to recognize and reward excellence in journalism that increases public awareness and understanding of intellectual property (IP) rights. in the 22 ARIPO member states.
Motsumi, a reporter with the Botswana Gazette, says it is an honor and a privilege to win the first prize, adding: “Winning is an affirmation that my work is reaching and educating the masses in all countries about intellectual property, which is currently under-reported “.

Matiko, IP & Lifestyle journalist at NMG is deeply overwhelmed with emotions.

“It’s not something I expected because IP is not a topic you often come across in the news. For ARIPO and AFRIPI to come up with this project to recognize our efforts in IP reporting in AFRICA means a lot. This is now a challenge to do better” Sinda Matiko IP & Lifestyle Journalist NMG,” he explains.

ARIPO Managing Director Bemanya Twebaze says the entries submitted showed impressive talent, professionalism and dedication to IP awareness. From 21 entries from nine different Member States, there was a remarkable diversity of perspectives and approaches.

He explains: “Our selection committee, consisting of five ARIPO staff members and a representative from AfrIPI, was dedicated to evaluating each entry in terms of relevance, media coverage, innovation, creativity and journalistic quality. For transparency and fairness, a fifth committee member served as an audit throughout the process.”

After a thorough review, three finalists emerged, demonstrating the high standards through their excellence in IP reporting. Twebaze expressed its enthusiasm for this initiative, stating: “This competition highlights the growing impact of IP awareness and the transformative role of journalism in making it accessible and relevant. I express my gratitude to every journalist who participated and to the IP offices whose support made this initiative possible. Together, let’s continue to raise the voices that promote IP awareness, support innovation and inspire progress in Africa.”

His words resonated with attendees, underscoring a collective commitment to fostering an environment where innovation thrives through informed public discourse.

(email protected)