Leo Burnett Beirut wins three Facebook Awards

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Leo Burnett Beirut represented their region as the only Middle Eastern company to receive Facebook Awards in 2015. The agency won both Gold (New Frontier) and Silver (Facebook for Good) awards for their work with non-governmental women’s rights organisation, KAFA, as well as a second Silver (New Frontier) award for their ‘Keep Walking Lebanon’ campaign for Johnny Walker. Other international recipients of the Facebook Awards included Droga5, McCann Lima and LA RED.

The Facebook Awards were established to celebrate the best creative work on Facebook, as chosen by leading creatives in the industry. They recognise excellence in campaign execution, as well as creative growth and evolution on Facebook, with judges looking for inspired work that challenges industry attitudes towards content publishing. A party will be held on June 24, 2015 in Cannes to celebrate the winners of this year’s awards.

MEPRA announces recipients of the Visionary Award

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Members of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) have voted for and chosen the top executives from the communications industry, as well as the corporate and government sectors, as recipients of its Visionary Award. Tara Rogers, Managing Partner, Mojo PR, won the communications agency executive Visionary Award, while Ala’A Eraiqat, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was chosen as the corporate Visionary Award winner. Maijida Ali Rashide, Assistant Directory General of Dubai Land Department & Head of Dubai Real Estate Promotion Centre was the recipient of the award in the government/not-for-profit sector.

The winners of the Visionary Award have been recognised for their impact and thought leadership over the previous years. The Visionary Awards were organised as part of the MEPRA Leadership Majlis, which was supported by destination partner Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, as well as event sponsors Weber Shandwick MENA and MCG Associates.

“I’m delighted to have three remarkable communicators winning our first visionary awards,” says Brian Lott, Chairman of MEPRA. “Ala’a, Majida and Tara have all shown exemplary leadership in terms of their respective areas of business and enterprise, and they’ve ensured that effective communications are at the forefront of the work being done by their respective organisations.”

For further information, contact Carine Duvignaud at carine@mepra.org / +971 (0)55 948 7491

Twitter CEO to step down

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Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer Dick Costolo is set to step down from his position on July 1, 2015, having been in the role since October, 2010. The former entrepreneur will remain on Twitter’s board of directors and the company has iterated that Costolo’s departure is his own decision to move on from his role, and that this move will have no financial impact for stakeholders. Former colleagues have praised Dick across Twitter, using the hashtag #ThankYouDickC.

While Twitter’s board hunt for a new permanent CEO, Jack Dorsay – a co-founder of the social networking site, as well as the first person to send a tweet when it launched in 2006 – will act as Interim Executive Officer.

Al Jazeera English wins at Online Media Awards

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Al Jazeera English online won three awards at the Online Media Awards in London on Thursday, June 11, 2015. The awards were for Best Technical Innovation, Best Use of Photography and Outstanding Digital Team of the Year, and they were judged by an independent panel from the British Journalism Review.

The Best Technical Innovation and Outstanding Digital Team of the Year titles were awarded for the Palestine Remix project, which was a network-wide initiative allowing users to access some of Al Jazeera’s documentaries on Palestine. The project also included interactive maps and timelines to help users understand and contextualise the Palestine issue. The Best Use of Photography award was given for Al Jazeera’s Portrait of a yogi, which was a photographic exploration into the power of yoga to unite people across cultural and physical divides.

“This recognition by our peers is a testament to Al Jazeera’s efforts to find new ways of storytelling, and to explain complex issues to a global audience,” says Imad Musa, Head of Online, Al Jazeera English.”Our team is small but incredibly passionate about what they can create, and it’s great that our peers agree that they are the best digital team in the world. We will continue to push the boundaries of original journalism and innovative design.”

For further information, contact pressoffice@aljazeera.net

OK! Middle East promotes Lucy Wildman

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OK! Middle East has promoted Lucy Wildman to the position of Acting Editor in the absense of Gemma White, who has commenced maternity leave. Lucy has over 12 years of experience in journalism in the UK as well as the UAE, and has been Deputy Editor of OK! Middle East since December 2013. In her new role as Acting Editor, she will oversee the day-to-day running of the magazine, as well as manage supplements and brand extensions.

For further information, contact Lucy Wildman at lucy.wildman@itp.com / +971 (0)4 444 3000

CNN’s Connect the World to go on tour

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CNN’s flagship news and current affairs show, Connect the World with Becky Anderson, is taking to the road this month, for a month-long tour. Beginning in Cairo, the programme will head to Amman and Beirut, before ending in Istanbul.

In each location anchor Becky Anderson will present a range of live programming and feature content, including interviews and analysis of the issues that matter in each location and beyond. Topics will vary for each location, but will encompass breaking news as well as culture, society and politics. On the final day in each location the team will host a special segment called CNN Café, which will see Becky take the show to the people in a live broadcast on location.

A range of digital content supporting the programme will be found on the show’s blog page, www.cnn.com/connect, and CNN Arabic will be supporting the tour, publishing a range of related content for Arabic-speaking users on CNNArabic.com as well as via social media. Both CNN.com and CNN Arabic will be interacting with audiences, asking users to send in suggestions and pictures to guide the editorial content both on TV and online.

“There is so much to explore and discuss in each of these locations, and we also want to add a truly interactive element to these special programmes,” says Becky. “This is about democratising the narrative, hearing the voices from the region on the stories resonating here and beyond. It promises to be a fascinating few weeks in some of the world’s most vibrant cities.”

For further information, contact Kimberly Lobo at kimberly.lobo@ketchum-raad.com / +971 (0)4 425 8979