In an increasingly complex and globalised world, science and its spin-off technologies play an increasingly important role in the daily lives of people across the planet. There is hardly any aspect of life in the modern world that does not rely on technology, yet despite its ubiquitous nature, the role of science and technology is not widely recognised or understood.
The Siemens Profile Awards, which recognise excellence in science and technology reporting, were instituted to make science and technology issues more accessible to the man-in-the-street.
Siemens recognised that journalists across all media platforms who report on in this field play a key role in demystifying science and technology and in making technology’s impacts on our lives more easily understood.
The Siemens Profile Awards were launched in 2003 in South Africa and, with the support of Siemens AG in Germany, the competition was extended to the rest of Africa. The awards are to be extended to other continents as a best practice communications programme.
Last year, the Siemens Profile Awards attracted 264 entries from 17 African countries in four languages, making them the premier science and technology journalism awards in Africa.
Journalists across the continent are finding in science and technology possible and real solutions to innumerable developmental problems and the Siemens Profile Awards reflect growing optimism in the ability of science and technology to deal with the continent’s many and pressing developmental issues.
As more African journalists equip themselves with an understanding of science and technology, they are also beginning to investigate the root and branch of this great developmental revolution which promises so much for the continent, and their investigations and reports are making the field more accessible to millions of Africans.
The Siemens Profile Awards recognise the role journalists are playing in the science and technology rollout across the continent and they encourage journalists in the field to anchor their reporting in sound research, quality reporting and individual journalistic flair.