CAFOD wins top media prize

CAFOD has been awarded a prestigious Clarion prize for its DVD-Rom "Live Simply: Louder than Words", encouraging young people to get involved with the campaign, The agency received its award at the British Film Institute in London, at a ceremony celebrating the role of the media industries in promoting a more ethical world. The Clarion Awards, run by the International Visual Communications Association, recognise best-practice in communicating the importance of corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, social inclusion and cultural aspiration. Around 500 leading figures from business, government and the arts gathered for the event, where CAFOD won the Interactive Media Category against competition including Save the Children, Samaritans and the Department of Health. The "Live Simply: Louder than Words" DVD-Rom was produced in collaboration with Purple Flame Media. It encourages young people to look beyond their consumer-driven lifestyles and understand how choosing to live more simply can make a positive difference to their lives and those of others, using examples of young people around the world. The DVD-Rom was used as part of CAFOD's Lent Fast Day 2007 materials, and is aimed mainly at secondary schools. Roland Unwin, CAFOD's visuals communications manager, said: "This award is a wonderful recognition, not just of our DVD-Rom, but also of all the communications work that we've been achieving at CAFOD. "In our media sector it's increasingly crucial to produce creative, accessible and hard-hitting content and this is a fantastic acknowledgement that CAFOD is leading the field in that." More than 40 awards were presented to a variety of recipients including celebrities such as Leonardo diCaprio for his forthcoming film on climate change "The 11th hour", and Moira Stewart for her film "In search of Wilberforce". Organisations ranging from the Royal Navy to Ashton Hayes parish council also won awards for their originality and excellence in communications. Roland said: "It's a great honour for CAFOD to be part of such a distinguished forum of companies, organisations and individuals. But the important thing is that this award inspires us to keep on combining our expertise with innovation to continue sharing our message. And we fully intend to do that."