Ubongo & Open Planet to Receive MIP SDG Awards

The African children’s edutainment creator Ubongo and the Open Planet free footage library are set to be honored with MIP SDG Awards, presented in association with the United Nations.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blueprint for a better and more sustainable future for the planet. They were established to support the United Nations’ Decade of Action campaign.

The MIP SDG Award recognizes how progress on the SDGs can be accelerated by editorial, campaigning and business practices within the television industry.

Attracting submissions from 24 countries, the 2024 winners have been selected from over 70 entries by an international jury of social responsibility experts, producers and past winners.

In just over a decade, Ubongo has evolved from a grassroots initiative in Tanzania to a pan-African social enterprise, harnessing the reach of mass media in TV, radio and mobile to provide quality educational content.

The ever-growing Open Planet library offers free access to high-quality footage and scientifically accurate visuals, unlocking barriers for content creators and storytellers to better explain and respond to the planet’s challenges and solutions.

Mwasi Wilmore, CEO of Ubongo,  said: “We are deeply honored to receive the MIP SDG Award in recognition of our commitment to providing inclusive and equitable quality education across Africa. This award reaffirms our dedication to leveraging the power of media to transform the learning experiences of millions of children, empowering them to realize their full potential.”

Emily Renshaw-Smith, director of operations at Open Planet, said: “We are proud to receive this award as a new initiative supporting the SDGs. Only by harnessing the transformative powers of storytelling, technology and creativity can we shift narratives and make meaningful strides towards addressing the most pressing challenges of our time. We have already seen incredible impact from unlocking visual content for storytellers through Open Planet–whether on the world’s most influential stages or in classrooms and communities–and are grateful to MIPTV and the United Nations for recognizing our contributions to the SDGs so far.”

Caroline Petit, deputy director for the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe, said: “The number and diversity of entries for this year’s edition of the MIP SDG Awards demonstrate that the audiovisual industry can be an important ally in many areas of the UN’s work: from sustainable development to human rights. Broadcasters and producers have a role to play in creating and distributing factual, scientific content and also in motivating and inspiring people to care through stories.”

Lucy Smith, director of MIPTV, commented: “Television’s power to accelerate progress has never been more needed. This year’s winners are just two examples from an incredibly encouraging range of inspiring, progressive initiatives from across the industry—initiatives we will continue to use our platform to highlight.”