Globacom Sponsor Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa
Leading Telecomms Company Globacom, has restated its commitment to giving value to its subscribers as well as contributing to intellectual development of the communities where the company has its footprints.
The Director of Event and Sponsorship, Globacom, Mr.Bode Opeseitan made this remark in Lagos yesterday while speaking at the press conference organised to herald the 2012 edition of Wole Soyinka’s Prize for Literature in Africa sponsored by Globacom.
According to him “Globacom and our dearly beloved Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka share similar aspirations and characteristics in terms of developing a strong, virile African society.
While Professor Wole Soyinka generally explores the medium of literary works to develop human capital across society and cultures, Globacom has continued to create value with its products and services that enrich the lives of the average African, using the ICT space.”
On its responsibilities to the society, he said that Globacom had been supporting the movie industry in Nigeria (Nollywood) and Ghana (Ghollywood), adding that the company has also strongly identified
with the cultural interests of its hosts.This includes the sponsorship of FITHEB, the biggest cultural festival in Benin Republic, while in Nigeria popular festivals like Lisabi in Abeokuta, Ojude Oba in
Ijebu-Ode and Ofala in Onitsha have featured prominently on Globacom calendar.
The Glo Director of Sponsorship described Professor Wole Soyinka as a colossus who towered higher within the African cultural and literary space to become the cynosure of all eyes in 1986 when he broke the record as the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He recalled that in 2003, “An evening with Wole Soyinka” was packaged by Globacom to celebrate the Man and his achievements in the literary world, adding that the partnership between Globacom and the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa is geared towards providing information, entertainment and create avenues for literary performances, in addition to improving the reading culture and the quality of the books produced across Africa.
Mr. Opeseitan commended the giant strides that the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa has achieved since it was established in 2005 as a Biennial Award to the best literary work produced by an African, adding that within its short life span, it strove to serve as an African equivalent of the Nobel Prize, particularly in recognizing and encouraging professionalism and personal excellence.
‘We believe that successful partnership between the Wole Soyinka’s Prize for Literature in Africa and Globacom will see the emergence of more Soyinkas and others in the nearest future; thus fulfilling the objective of the programme which is to discover, recognise and reward the best literary work produced by an African” he concluded.
Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, Mrs. Francesca Yetunde Emmanuel commended Globacom for sponsoring the Awards, adding that it will boost the robust stature of the Prize, its reach, African qualities and values.
She stated further that the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa assesses works by African authors selected within the two years preceding the award year and it is intended to serve as an African equivalent of the Nobel Prize, particularly in recognizing and encouraging professional and personal excellence.
- Leadership News
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