Dainik Bhaskar wins WAN-IFRA's world young reader prize

The publication got special recognition for its 'ek ped ek zindagi' (one tree, one life) initiative, through which 2.5 million saplings were planted across 14 states

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | September 12, 2016

Dainik Bhaskar won the WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers) world young reader prize, special mention award for 2016 in the public service category for its 'ek ped ek zindagi' (one tree, one life) initiative. Dainik Bhaskar is the only Indian publisher to win the award this year.

It honours excellence in news publisher engagement of youth in all ways on all platforms. The public service category honours a civic engagement project in areas such as the environment, literacy, youth civic involvement and so on. The prizes are part of WAN-IFRA's efforts to recognise, encourage and disseminate innovative ideas and thinking to help build a stronger and vital news media.

Dainik Bhaskar Group's 'ek ped ek zindagi' campaign was run across 34 cities with an objective to motivate people to plant at least one sapling in their name and take care and nurture it till it becomes a full-grown tree. Under the aegis of this initiative, special emphasis was given to promote awareness among school children about the environmental importance of planting native trees and medicinal plants. 2.5 million saplings were planted across 14 states with an involvement of over 1 million children, who were able to name and personalise their trees. Praising the initiative, the jury said, “While it may be impossible for other news publishers to match the massive numbers from India, this environment-friendly project offers good ideas that can be used anywhere on how to engage young people and work with them to make a meaningful and positive impact in their communities in ways that naturally resonate.”

Girish Agarwal, Director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, said, “It gives us immense pleasure to be recognised among the world's best media initiatives focused towards youth engagement. It is a matter of pride and will provide impetus to our efforts towards delivering differentiated content for our readers sustainably. We are more than happy to see our reader-centric initiatives not only getting appreciated by our readers but also winning awards at different national and international forums.”

The prizes will be awarded on December 1, 2016 at the Newseum, the interactive museum in Washington DC dedicated to free expression and the five freedoms of the United States. Dainik Bhaskar has also been invited to an international strategic round table on youth engagement and news literacy.

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