YFM-STONE POOL TOURNAMENT LAUNCHED

The game of pool (snooker) is suddenly generating a lot of interest among the youth in Ghana. The game is currently enjoying a high patronage among the youth today especially in the pubs, restaurants, and spots. The first ever pool tournament is a Y FM initiative involving 9 pubs in Accra and Tema.

The objective of this tournament is in line with Y FM’s desire and commitment to encourage sports among the youth. Sports, undoubtedly is a number one unifier in the world over today and pool certainly plays a major role as an interesting sporting activity. Y FM therefore wants to take the game to a higher level by mobilizing all interested stakeholders – players, organizers and spectators who just watch the game for the fun of it.

“The rationale behind the tournament is to inculcate in the youth, the qualities and virtues that come with participating in sports, including discipline, determination and team spirit” said Mr. George Laing, General Manager of Y FM during the launch of the tournament yesterday at CoolWorld.

The Y FM-Stone Pool Tournament kicks off on the 8th of August at 8-Ball Pub in Tema. There are 9 clubs made up of both men and women participating in this competition. The clubs will play each other in interesting knock-out stages which will be culminated with a grand finale on the 22nd of August, 2009.

This first tournament is sponsored by Stone Strong Lager, a product of ABL, MKOGH Clothing and CoolWorld who have kindly donated a range of their Haier Thermocool products as prizes for the winners. These products include a a 42” Plasma screen, home theatre centre, a laptop, a pool table and many consolation prizes including mobile phones, cinema tickets and Stone Lager which will be given out on-air on Y FM 107.7

Y FM 107.7 is the only youth-dedicated channel in Accra and barely after a year’s operations, it has come to change the radio listening habits among the youth in Accra and its environs. Today many young people have made radio a part of their daily lives because of the interesting programming carefully designed for and targeted exclusively at them. Y FM - Radio for the young and the young at heart is proud to be associated with this initiative as it complements the station’s commitment to encourage and help young people have fun and lead meaningful lives. Thus through fun and cheer, young people should also develop talents and skills while also generating some wealth for themselves.

For further enquiries, listen to Y FM 107.7. You can also log on to http://www.yfmghana.com/ and register to be a part of this phenomenal event.

CNN AFRICAN JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS SET FOR SATURDAY, JULY 18TH

Africa and the rest of the world will on Saturday witness another eventful happening as Africa’s best and top journalists gather in the city of Durban in South Africa for the 14th annual CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Awards.

This year has seen a steady, remarkable improvement in the overall quality of the entries. 836 entries came from across the continent including French and Portuguese speaking Africa all with very compelling stories, well told and reported. This gave the judging panel a difficult task in deciding who becomes the best and the overall award winner. Before the gala awards night on Saturday, the finalists from 12 countries are expected to arrive in Durban on Wednesday for various activities including seminars, workshops and sightseeing.

Last year’s awards held in Accra had Israel Laryea of Joy FM and Emmanuel Nkrumah of the Daily Graphic in the finalists. Israel Laryea made Ghana roar with pride and joy when he emerged winner of the best radio report category award. Anas Aremeyaw Anas, from the Crusading Guide Newspaper is the only Ghanaian among this year’s finalists. Ghanaians, in spite of the rather low turnout in the finalists are very expectant, even pitching their hopes to the overall awards with the belief and pride that, Anas is certainly one of the finest journalists in Africa. His recent mention by President Barack Obama during his historic visit to Ghana gives the young investigative journalist a lot of international recognition.

“I was very happy and humbled when President Obama mentioned Mr. Anas as one of the young people fighting a worthy cause on the continent. It gives me a lot of hope that whatever we do with passion, commitment and professionalism, we certainly will get results and some recognition someday” said Edward Boateng, co-founder of the awards.

The winners of the competition will be announced at an Award Ceremony and Gala Evening at The International Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa on Saturday 18th July. The hosts for the evening will be Isha Sesay, presenter of CNN weekly programme ‘Inside Africa’, joined on stage by South African eNews Channel presenter Macfarlane Molele.

These year’s finalists include the following journalists

· Ayodeji Adeyemi, TELL Magazine, Nigeria
· Biaou Daniel Valérien Adje, ORTB - Parakou, Benin
· Anas Aremeyaw Anas, The Crusading Guide, Ghana
· Rajen Bablee, Samedi Plus, Mauritius
· Ernesto Bartolomeu, TPA, Angola
· Nicola De Chaud, Backyard Productions for Carte Blanche, South Africa
· Ethar El-Katatney, Business Today Egypt
· Hazel Friedman, Special Assignment, SABC, South Africa
· Halden Krog, The Times, South Africa
· Anna-Maria Lombard, Health-e News Service for 3rd Degree e.tv, South Africa
· Paul McNally, Men's Health Magazine, South Africa
· James Moturi Mogaka, KTN, Kenya
· Fredrick Mugira, Freelance for Mail & Guardian online www.mg.co.za, Uganda
· Sammy Muraya, Metro FM, Kenya
· Boniface Mwangi, Expression Today, Kenya
· John Benson Mwangi, KTN, Kenya
· John-Allan Namu, KTN, Kenya
· Elshadai Negash, Freelance for Fortune Newspaper, Ethiopia
· Luís Nhachote, Zambeze, Mozambique
· Tolu Ogunlesi, Contributing Editor for Glide Magazine, Nigeria
· Violet Otindo, K24 Television, Kenya
· Odette Schwegler, Backyard Productions for Carte Blanche, South Africa
· Viviane Tiendrébéogo, Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina Faso
· Beauregard Tromp, The Star, South Africa
· Alain Zongo, L'Observateur Paalga, Burkina Faso

About the award:
The CNN African Journalist of the Year Award was founded in 1995 by Edward Boateng, Executive Chairman of Global Media Alliance ( and formerly African Regional Director for Turner Broadcasting System Inc., CNN’s parent company) and the late Mohamed Amin, to recognise and encourage excellence in journalism throughout Africa.

Entries were published or broadcast in 2008 for the following awards: Arts & Culture: Economics and Business: Environment: Free Press Africa; HIV/AIDS Reporting; MSD Health & Medical: Mohamed Amin Photographic; Print General News; Radio General News; Sport; Television Features; Television News Bulletin; Tourism; Francophone General News; Portuguese Language General News

A Happy Day at Elwak with Happy FM Keep Fit Games

Not even the rainy cold weather could stop several people from thronging to the Elwak Park over the weekend to witness and participate in another interesting line up of sporting activities organized by Happy FM. This year’s event was certainly one to remember for the encouraging numbers that participated in the activities despite the rather daunting weather conditions.
It was all fun amid music and dance, and interesting sporting activities at the park that attracted a lot of people including business executives, amateur sports lovers, and Keep Fit Clubs. The participants ranged between 12 and 50 years.

First, there was the health walk from Aviation Social Centre, through Airport round about, to Airport junction, through to Opeibea House, to Golden Tulip, going through 37 and towards Surveys Department and to the Elwak Park which was followed by warm up exercise activities by the various groups and clubs. Hon. Dep. Sports Minister Nii Nortey-Duah also graced the occasion and kick started the football game between Happy FM and TV3. TV3, with their able-bodied team carried the day with a 2-1 win against Happy FM. The match between Global Media Alliance and Silverbird Entertainment Ghana Limited ended in a 2 – 2 draw when Mr. Mark Ampadu in about just three minutes to stoppage time, scored two goals to rescue GMA who were down to two goals.

"It's a good feeling to come out once in a while to have fun and catch up with colleagues and friends, after all what do they say? ..... all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. An event such as this is needed every now and then as it offers countless benefits. We are all having a good time, the rains certainly give the fun a special twist" said Mr. Akwasi Agyeman, Managing Director, GMABC.

There were other activities among the Keep Fit Clubs from across the country. Among the teams participating were Pro Gym Keep Fit Club, The Looks Keep Fit Club, East Legon Keep Fit Club, Bartor Keep Fit Club, Osu Kinkawe Keep Fit Club, Happy Keep Fit Club, Discipline Keep Fit Club (all in Accra) as well as Bartor Keep Fit Club and Mepe Keep Fit Club, both from the Volta Region.

The day was climaxed with the presentation of prizes and certificates to the winners which witnessed thunderous shouts from spectators who were cheering their winning team players. Bator Keep Fit Club emerged the overall winners of the day with Mepe Keep Fit Club being the runners up from the 18 Keep Fit Clubs. It was such a joyous moment for the two winning teams who came all the way from the Volta Region to beat their colleagues.

“We are indeed very happy, I can’t even put in words the joy we actually feel, though it’s just a friendly event, we are happy to come from the Volta Region to defeat the Accra teams. Watch out for us again next year” panted Dodzi, Bartor team player.

Apart from interesting games such as football, bend ball, athletics, sack race, tug of war and many others, there was also good music blazing the air throughout the period with the spectators moving to the hot rhythms while cheering their favorite teams and clubs. It was all merry-making and great camaraderie in the rather chilly weather. The occasion also gave participants the opportunity to mingle and network.

The Happy FM Keep Fit is organized every year bringing together several sports lovers, business executives from all across the country to participate in many interesting sporting activities. While they have fun and network, the day also offers participants the opportunity to do some exercises to boost their health and also re-conscientize them about healthy-living activities through sports. The highly-patronized event is organized yearly by Happy FM with assistance from Global Media Alliance.

Fun Galore at Cartoon Network Kids Festival

It was a hidden fun basket let open at the Aviation Social Centre over the weekend as several children from many parts of Accra and its environs gathered and mingled with one another and competed in teams named after their favourite cartoon characters such as Batman, Ben 10, Bunny, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Tom and Jerry and many more.

It was such a delight to see the children playing, laughing and learning at the same time. This was a sight that certainly sent one reminiscing about his childhood and all the fun associated with it. The day was also an opportunity for many of the children to get to network and make new friends. The children took part in activities such as athletics, tug of war, lime and spoon racing, basketball, bouncy castles, Indomie sponsored eating competition and so many more. Young and pretty Ruth Tetteh from the St. Benedict School, Dansoman, emerged winner of the tough musical chairs competition, beating 14 other contestants. “I always want to win, no matter how tough the competition. I’m very happy to be the winner” Ruth said, all smiles.

The adults who also came there as parents or guardians were not left out. They were also given the opportunity to participate in the fun activities as they cheered their children to victory in the various competitions. Some of them were also lucky enough to catch up with old friends and colleagues. These adults had so much to talk about as they shared among themselves the challenges in their individual lives and the feats they have chopped in their diverse endeavours. Certainly and more importantly, as the adults watched their wards continue to have quality fun, they shared among themselves also the challenges of raising their kids, the new ways of good parenting and practical ways of dealing with today’s children.

There were also corporate groups such KLP (publishers of children’s books), GT Bank as well as Ghana Commercial Bank who seized the opportunity to tell parents about the GCB KidiStar (Kids Account). They advised all parents to invest in their children’s future by taking advantage of the stimulating and rewarding GCB package to give their children a financial head start.
There were lots of good food and music as they children fraternized and competed healthily through interesting games and other playing activities. The winners from the various activities were also presented with prizes from Tigo, Indomie, GCB and Global Media Alliance. YFM’s Hasira, the MC for the day gave the children and their parents a really nice experience with very interesting tales and activities.

This is the third festival organized yearly by Global Media Alliance with support from Cartoon Network. The Cartoon Network Kids Festival is a platform that offers a relaxing atmosphere for children to spend quality time together, learn through healthy competitions and shape their learning abilities. The fair also provides an avenue for children to acquire team building skills, unearth hidden talents while offering parents the opportunity to network and share parenting experiences.The Cartoon Network Kids Festival organized every July is also an opportunity for Ghanaians and foreigners to commemorate and celebrate the Republic Day of Ghana in a relaxing and refreshing atmosphere. This year’s event was sponsored by Rabina InflatableFun, Coca-Cola, Indomie noodles, Fanmilk, SilverBird, Y FM and TV Africa.