Digital Media Market (TV Focus): M-Commerce, E-Commerce Reviewed in Global Research Reports

DALLAS, November 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The Global Digital Media - Smart TV, Digital TV and IPTV Trends market research report provides important insights into the vibrant global TV market, which is undergoing significant transformation. This report includes key trends, statistics, case studies and analyses on the key sectors, which comprise the TV market including Digital, Pay TV, Online video streaming, Mobile TV and IPTV. It explores the trends occurring in multi-play bundling supported by relevant case studies and a future based on Over-The-Top (OTT) services. In addition, the report provides insightful regional overviews by experts for North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Complete report is available at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/291539.html .

The Global Digital Economy - The Rapidly Evolving E-Commerce and M-Commerce Markets research is an annual report of information on the global development of e-commerce and m-commerce and incorporates key insights, statistics, examples and trends. The report explores some of the larger issues surrounding the rise of Over-The Top (OTT) services and provides expert insights into e-payments, e-banking, entertainment apps, mobile location based services and digital advertising. The report includes regional information across North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Complete report is available at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/371394.html .

The digital TV and video broadcasting industry has changed beyond recognition and it continues to evolve. Consumer habits are shifting from broadcast TV to on-demand content - especially streaming. Traditional TV viewing is increasingly facing competition from other viewing platforms such as smart phones, tablets, and Smart TVs.

Pay TV across the various platforms - including cable TV, IPTV, and satellite TV - continues to rise in popularity, and this trend is reflected in the market's increasing service revenues. IPTV is the fastest-growing pay TV platform from a global perspective.

Video applications over broadband are being used by many different industries for advertising, marketing, demonstration, entertainment and communication purposes. Online video streaming already makes up the largest component of internet traffic, and is set to continue growing faster than other digital formats.
Streaming video providers face increasing competition as more and more companies enter this extremely promising market. The most successful of these has been US-based Netflix. Since 2010, it has been gradually expanding outside of its domestic market, and has seen its international subscriber base triple between 2012 and 2014.

Besides commercially produced media, users are producing their own videos to share their interests with like-minded people. YouTube proved early on that watching videos on the internet, particularly free user-generated videos, could be hugely popular, and this trend is continuing to grow.
Mobile TV/video is forecast to grow strongly, although not quite as dramatically as initially expected. Due to poor data allowance and steep prices, users tend to watch mobile video over WiFi more than over a cellular network.

The 'triple play' concept comprises fixed voice, video and data applications - all delivered over one single access subscription. Many companies also offer 'quadruple play', in which mobile voice services are added into the equation. Bundled offers are very popular in parts of Europe, particularly in France, Italy, and the Netherlands. A number of countries in Asia are also leading multi-play developments.

Spending on advertising using digital media channels is continuing to grow in market share despite economic conditions slowing down the growth of overall advertising spending. In 2014 the advertising sector is focused on the future opportunities offered by multi-screen developments. In other words, a cross-marketing approach involving multiple devices including TV, touchscreen tablets, computers, laptops, mobile phones etc. In addition, advertisers and content developers/providers are eyeing off the potential opportunities offered by the Over-The-Top (OTT) content distributed by Smart TVs. Digital marketing as a whole remains a growth area, as marketers shift towards these types of advertising methods at the expense of traditional formats. Order a copy of Global Digital Media - Smart TV, Digital TV and IPTV Trends market research report at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=291539 .

The Global Digital Economy - The Rapidly Evolving E-Commerce and M-Commerce Markets report provides important insights into how the telecoms industry transformation and growth of Over-The-Top (OTT) services has both impacted upon the digital economy and the telcos. This unique report includes information and statistics on the global e-commerce, e-payments and m-commerce markets; mobile location based services and apps based on entertainment.  In addition the report provides insights and statistics on the global digital advertising sector which provides a valuable source of revenue to many of those operating in the digital media sector. Insightful regional overviews are provided for North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Examples of key insights:

• Mass market m-commerce is slowly coming to fruition. There appears to be a direct correlation between the frequency of mobile internet use and the use of advanced internet services such as mobile instant messaging, email and social networking.
• Consumer willingness to seek cheaper and broader retail options is a driver behind both the growth of e-commerce and m-commerce.
• Global m-commerce sales are expected to reach around $120 billion globally in 2015.
• Banks are realising the world is changing and social banking is becoming a key trend. The Internet media companies continue to battle for supremacy in this vibrant market.
• Outside of the banks, PayPal has established itself as the most advanced e-payment system worldwide. In September 2013 PayPal launched its Beacon service with utilises Bluetooth technology and allows a shopper to complete their in-store purchase at selected retail outlets without having to physically open the PayPal app.
• Cloud computing allows e-retailers which don't have the resources or capacity to manage their sites infrastructure to tap into a cloud based services. Mobile cloud-based payments are being explored via HCE technology.
• In 2014 the rise of alternative Over-The-Top mobile messaging services is becoming a serious threat to the traditional operators' revenue streams and is considered to be a disruptive development. It is important to note that messaging itself is not in decline - it is the business models which are changing.
• Asia Pacific in particular is considered a key area for future e-commerce and m-commerce growth. Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Australia are just some of the countries in Asia Pacific which have embraced online spending and China and India offer enormous potential in the future.

Order a copy of Global Digital Economy - The Rapidly Evolving E-Commerce and M-Commerce Markets report at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=371394 .
Explore more reports on social media market and other research on IT & Telecommunication sectors at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/cat/information-technology-market-research.html .

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United Colors of Benetton Partners with UN Women to End Violence Against Women Now!

United Colors of Benetton's global campaign for the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25, 2014

New York, November 24, 2014. A group of men "stoning" a woman with flower petals: this is the powerful and surprising symbol-image of the new campaign by United Colors of Benetton in support of UN Women, the United Nations agency that promotes gender equality and empowerment of women, on occasion of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, on 25 November.

By choosing to overturn the cliché of "do not hit even with flowers", United Colors of Benetton and UN Women - with passion and a bit of poetry - call for ending all forms of discrimination and abuse. The global campaign, centered around an image and online videos published by the international press and on social networks, seeks to remind the world that women should no longer have to put up with discomfort, suffering or a life of misery: they should be able to choose to be themselves and not what their partners, men, religion or society would like them to be.

The goal of the campaign by United Colors of Benetton, devised and created by Fabrica, is also to advocate international awareness of the need for concrete actions to support women and prevention programs, beginning with efforts to promote an education for young men and women that develops a culture based on recognition, respect for difference and equal opportunities.

The campaign takes United Colors of Benetton's communications down a new and unconventional path, symbolically representing the deconstruction of stereotypes and prejudices, calling for an end to the culture of violence - even in its underlying values - and strongly affirming that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities in society and in life. It also seeks to highlight the urgent need for men and women to think and act together because, in the words of the Nobel Peace Prize winning author Elie Wiesel: "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence helps the tormentor, never the tortured."

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, said “We know that the pandemic of violence that affects 1 in 3 women and girls can be stopped. But we cannot do it alone. We need partners who help us raise awareness and promote a culture of zero tolerance toward this pervasive human rights violation. Benetton is such a partner. Their campaign, launched on the International Day to End Violence against Women supports our global efforts. We appreciate this commitment to the cause.”

Erik Ravelo, Head of Social Engagement Campaigns of Fabrica (Benetton Group’s communications research center) and creative director of the campaign, said: "we have always focused on socially responsible communication initiatives and were happy to lend our creativity as part of efforts to raise awareness on the issue of violence against women: we chose a flower instead of a stone to say no to a human rights violation that causes permanent physical and emotional scars and that is reflected in all social classes."

Fabrica has also designed an art installation, Facing, formed of a series of metal plates that represent - in a "positive" light - the faces of women that have been assaulted and disfigured: acid is used to create beauty not to take it away, as in real life. These works will be put up for auction in 2015 and the proceeds will be donated to UN Women.

Acid and stones act as a metaphor for all forms of violence against women, whether perpetrated with fists, knives or weapons. The campaign has a double meaning - celebration and warning at the same time - and confronts us with the question of why women are so often the victims of violence rather than subjects of respect.

November 25 marks the official start of the Orange Days, a 16-day initiative of UN Women, ending December 10, in honour of the battle for women's rights, with events held all around the world.
On this day the UNHATE Foundation, the heart of Benetton Group's social activities, will open its unhatenews.com digital platform (the result of a collaboration with UNDPI-United Nations Department of Public Information) to contributions from young people from all over the world, aged 18-30. Here they can upload self-produced “news” stories they wish would come true on contemporary issues/problems deemed of global importance and which respect the UN's agenda (the so-called "MDG and post-2015 Development Agenda"), including: development and the environment, the fight against terrorism, sustaining democracy and human rights, with a focus on women's rights. Of the 100 most popular "news" items, 10 will be chosen by the UNHATE Foundation and - in collaboration with UNDPI - will be transformed into sustainable projects to be realized in 2015.

The collaboration between Benetton Group and the UNHATE Foundation together with UN Women resulted, in 2014, in the project Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women in the city of Kigali, Rwanda. It is part of a UN program, in five cities around the world, to combat violence against young women with an artistic and creative approach. This collaboration will continue in 2015.

Press kit (also available in foreign languages) : benettongroup.com/end-violence-against-women

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5th Eko International Film Festival Ends With Maria Blumencron's "Jesus and the Vanished Women"

The expository documentary film "Jesus and the Vanished Women" (Jesus und die verschwundenen Frauen) closed the 5th annual Eko International Film Festival Sunday night at the Silverbird Cinemas, Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos. It was one of the three special films from makido Film of Vienna in German and dubbed in English for English audiences. The other two makido films included "Diplomatic Liaisons - Mistresses of the Vienna Congress - Sex, Lies and Diplomacy"(Der Wiener Kongress und die Macht der Frauen) by Monika Czernin, Melissa Müller and The Righteous Among the Nations: Rescuers and Volunteers During National Socialism" (Die Gerechten unter den Völkern. Retter und Helfer im Nationalsozialismus), a very powerful documentary by Andrea Morgenthaler. A timeless memorial tribute to "honor those who stood by the Jews in their darkest hour" during the Holocaust. It followed the 1963 Yad Vashem worldwide program to find and pay tribute to those who had rescued Jews, calling them the “Righteous Among the Nations".  
The exceptional biographies of Dorothea Neff, Franz Leitner, Jaroslawa Lewicki, Esther Grinberg-Boissevain, and the Helmrich couple demonstrate how it was possible even under the most adverse circumstances to show humanity and sympathy.

Maria Blumencron.
 

"Jesus and the Vanished Women "(Jesus und die verschwundenen Frauen) is written and directed by famous award winning Austrian actress, filmmaker and author Maria Blumencron, whose film endorses Feminist theology.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene are possibly the names that spring to one's mind first when thinking of Jesus of Nazareth. In the gospels and epistles of the New Testament, the women around Jesus play a very special role, which, over the course of Church history has been repressed. It was the women, Jesus' female disciples, according to the gospels, who remained true to Jesus in his most difficult hours on the cross and who were the first to bear witness to his resurrection. Women such as the deaconess and abbess, Phoebe of Cenchreae, or the apostle, Junia, were the equals of the other (male) disciples, led communities, were apostles just like the Twelve. Who were the women with whom Jesus of Nazareth surrounded himself? What were his relationships with them? And what role did they play in the imitation of Christ, in the first Christian communities?

The closing ceremony ended with closing remarks and cocktail reception. The special guests who graced the event included accomplished Nigerian filmmakers Lancelot Imasuen, Ralp Nwadike, Francis Onwoche, Chike Ibekwe, Victor Okhai, Amaka Anioji and others. They all met with Nicole Polsterer of makido Film and Nella Hengstler, Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Nigeria who represented the ambassador. makido Film is working on co-productions with Nigerian film filmmakers for the "Time for Africa" projects and international film distribution for Nigerian films in Europe.

 ~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online and author "Children of Heaven", "Scarlet Tears of London", "Bye, Bye Mugabe", "In the House of Dogs", "The Prophet Lied", "Diary of the Memory Keeper" and other books.



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Nicole Polsterer of makido Film Vienna in Lagos for “Time for Africa” at 5th EKOIFF

 Nicole Polsterer of makido Film Vienna in Lagos for “Time for Africa” at  5th EKOIFF

Nicole Polsterer from makido Film of Vienna in Austria is in Lagos for makido’s “Time for Africa” Film project at the 5th annual Eko International Film Festival that started on Thursday November 20, 2014, at the Silverbird Cinemas, Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos. The film festival will close on Sunday, November 23 at the same venue with special screenings and ceremony to be co-hosted by makido Film with support from the Austrian Embassy in Nigeria.

makido Film is collaborating with the Eko International Film Festival for their “Time for Africa” project of bringing African film making talents and European film producers together.
 makido Film Vienna will offer film internships to two young Nigerian filmmakers. And each intern will have the opportunity to work in one or more of the following roles:

• Journalist and content developer
•  Camera Assistant (work with experienced camera operators, use of broadcast cameras and ancillary equipment as well as lighting equipment)
• Sound Assistant (Microphone technology, boom handling, radio microphones, personal microphones, a particular focus on voice recording)
• Editing Assistant (work with experienced video editors and directors, preparation, support and finishing of an edit, management of footage, archive handling and research)
• Delivery Assistant (finalise programs for transmission, creation of accessible versions, subtitling, DVD authoring)
• Production Assistant (an in depth experience of the complex processes required for any TV production)

Interns are expected to have experience using the following software packages:
Microsoft Office, File maker Pro, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Cloud, Sub-titler, Archive management, DVD Studio Pro.
The placement will be for a minimum of three and a maximum of 6 months. The applicant should ideally be between 24 and 29 years old and and either be enrolled at a university or have graduated not longer than two years ago in July 2015.Females are strongly encouraged to apply. The internship will be paid. The intern is solely responsible for his or her tax declaration and social security arrangements. makido will reimburse partly or totally the incurred cost for travel two months after the internship.

About makido and Time for Africa Project

 makido stands for MArboe, KIno(German for cinema), and DOcumentary, but also alludes to the game makido, highlighting the playful nature with which we want to approach complex topics and that we want to treat our protagonists with particular care and sensitivity.

As traditional, value-determining groups, like political parties, churches but also families “in the conventional sense” lose their impact and significance in our society, what is shown on TV and in cinemas becomes increasingly important. It puts a special responsibility on those who produce films.

What is the focus of Time for Africa! ?
What comes to mind when you think of Africa?
Images of poor starving people falling victim to natural disasters and corrupt politicians?
The dominant images portrayed in the media serve only to enhance these stereotypical views.
And how are Europeans perceived in Africa?
Aren’t they all well off with enough jobs for everyone?
makido aims to challenge these stereotypes by telling nuanced and exciting stories about people living on the two continents.
“Rather than condemn or endorse the undoubted power of the media, we need to accept their significant impact and penetration throughout the world as an established fact, and also appreciate their importance as an element of culture in today’s world. The role of communication and media in the process of development should not be underestimated, nor the function of media as instruments for the citizen’s active participation in society…”
~ UNESCO declaration issued on 22 January 1982 at the International Symposium on Media Education in Grunwald, Germany

Nicole Polsterer has a comprehensive and impressive academic and professional record in Austria and other countries since her study of Economic and Social Sciences (WU Vienna) with a focus on finance, financial markets and marketing. Studies in Paris (HEC Paris) and in Seville, Master in International Management at the Community of European Schools (CEMS). She also has postgraduate diplomas in international development cooperation and peacekeeping by the United Nations University in Tokyo.  She has been active in the fields of foreign affairs and development in the European Commission and the European Parliament in Brussels. Between 2003 and 2012: United Nations Development Programme in Brussels and in the New York headquarters, last project coordinator of the UNEP Global Outlook on Sustainable Consumption and Production Policies in the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris. In March 2012, she joined the Sustainable Europe Research Institute in as head of sustainable economic research group. Focus: management consultancy, ecological rucksacks and sustainable consumption and production. Since February 2014, Nicole is dedicated to the film medium, to use it for educational work for sustainable development.

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Innovation can Drive Change for Most Disadvantaged Children - UNICEF Report

NEW YORK and BEIJING, Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Urgent action is needed to prevent millions of children from missing out on the benefits of innovation, UNICEF said in a new report launched on the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Connectivity and collaboration can fuel new global networks to leverage innovation to reach every child, according to the children's agency.
The State of the World's Children Report - Reimagine the future: Innovation forevery child calls on governments, development professionals, businesses, activists and communities to work together to drive new ideas for tackling some of the most pressing problems facing children - and to find new ways of scaling up the best and most promising local innovations.

The report is a crowd-sourced compilation of cutting-edge innovations and an interactive platform that maps innovations in countries all over the world and invites innovators to put their own ideas 'on the map.'
"Inequity is as old as humanity, but so is innovation - and it has always driven humanity's progress," said UNICEF Executive DirectorAnthony Lake. "In our ever-more connected world, local solutions can have global impact - benefiting children in every country who still face inequity and injustice every day.
"For innovation to benefit every child, we have to be more innovative - rethinking the way we foster and fuel new ideas to solve our oldest problems," said Lake. "The best solutions to our toughest challenges won't come exclusively either from the top down or the grassroots up, or from one group of nations to another. They will come from new problem solving networks and communities of innovation that cross borders and cross sectors to reach the hardest to reach - and they will come from young people, adolescents and children themselves."

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Since then, there has been tremendous progress in advancing child rights - with a huge reduction in the numbers of children dying before the age of five and increased access to education and clean water.
However, the rights of millions of children are violated every day, with the poorest 20 percent of the world's children twice as likely as the richest 20 percent to die before their fifth birthday, almost one in four children in the least developed countries engaged in child labour, and millions of children regularly experiencing discrimination, physical and sexual violence, and abuse and neglect.

China has made tremendous progress in scientific and technological innovations that have contributed to improving the lives of children inChina as well as around the world. Many leading academic institutions, entrepreneurs and intellectuals are developing new tools that can address disability, engage young people and improve access to public information on important health and development issues.

The latest edition of UNICEF's flagship report argues that innovations such as oral rehydration salts or ready-to-use therapeutic foods have helped drive radical change in the lives of millions of children in the last 25 years - and that more innovative products, processes, and partnerships are critical to realizing the rights of the hardest to reach children.

The fully digital report includes multimedia and interactive content that invites readers to share their own ideas and innovations, and highlights outstanding innovations that are already improving lives in countries around the world from a wide range of countries, including:

* Solar Ear, the world's first rechargeable hearing aid battery charger, developed to meet the needs of communities lacking regular access to electricity; it can be charged via the sun, household light, or a cell phone plug. (Tendekayi Katsiga, Deaftronics,Botswana / Zimbabwe) * Community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM), a model of care that moves away from the traditional, expensive, low-coverage model of inpatient therapeutic feeding centres run by aid agencies, treats people in their homes with the support of local clinics and using ready-to-use therapeutic foods. (Steve Collins, co-Founder and Director of VALID Nutrition) * New ways to engage Liberian youth in the midst of the Ebola crisis through U-report, a mobile phone-based system developed with young people, that helps examine what issues are most important to them. (UNICEF,Liberia) * Floating schools that provide year-round access to education for children living in flood-prone regions ofBangladesh. (Mohammed Rezwan, Founding Executive Director of the NGO Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha) * Vibrasor, a device invented by two teenage girls in Colombia, to help people with hearing impairments navigate safely through busy urban areas. (Isamar Cartagena, Katherine Fernandez) * To find a new solution to help those without regular access to electricity inNigeria, four teenage girls invented a urine-powered generator. (Nigeria) "There are so many young inventors all cross the globe - even in the remotest corners - who are committed to changing the world for children," says Bisman Deu, a 16-year old from Chandigarh,India whose invention of a building material made from rice waste is featured in UNICEF's report.

"Every nation has different problems and every person has different solutions," said Deu. "We need to learn from one another's experiences, come together as a global community of innovation and keep producing ideas that can make a real difference."

UNICEF has prioritized innovation across its network of more than 190 countries, setting up hubs around the world including inAfghanistan, Chile, Kosovo, Uganda, and Zambia to foster new ways of thinking, working and collaborating with partners and to nurture local talent.

Access the report at http://sowc2015.unicef.org <http://sowc2015.unicef.org/>
Share your ideas and innovations at http://sowc2015.unicef.org/your-innovations/ <http://sowc2015.unicef.org/your-innovations/>

Access broadcast quality photos, b-roll and multimedia content on: The State of the World's Children Report - Reimagine the future: Innovation forevery child: http://uni.cf/1oNr5pM <http://uni.cf/1oNr5pM>The Convention on the Rights of the Child: http://uni.cf/1xtF8RY <http://uni.cf/1xtF8RY>
About UNICEF: UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit ofall children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit:www.unicef.org <http://www.unicef.org/>

About UNICEF Innovation: UNICEF Innovation <http://www.unicef.org/innovation/innovation_73197.html> is an interdisciplinary team of individuals around the world tasked with identifying, prototyping, and scaling technologies and practices that strengthen UNICEF's work to improve children's lives around the world. For more information visit:www.unicef.org/innovation <http://www.unicef.org/innovation>

Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/UNICEF> and Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/unicef> using #EVERYchild


SOURCE UNICEF China
RELATED LINKS
http://sowc2015.unicef.org
http://sowc2015.unicef.org/your-innovations
http://uni.cf/1oNr5pM
http://uni.cf/1xtF8RY
http://www.unicef.org

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5th Eko International Film Festival Opens With Premiere of Martial Thriller“Rough Chase”

5th Eko International Film Festival Opens With Premiere of Martial Thriller“Rough Chase”.

The 5th annual Eko International Film Festival opens today on Victoria Island in Lagos with the premiere of Nigerian martial arts thriller “Rough Chase: The Race for Life” directed by J Leo Uche who is also playing the leading role with popular Nollywood stars Ernest Asuzu and Emeka Nwafor and also starring Grace Onwurah, Leon Slabor and popular Nigerian Kung Fu master Natty Bruce. The venue of the film festival is the Silverbird Cinemas, Silverbird Galleria, on Victoria Island, Lagos. The 5th edition will close on Sunday with special screenings and ceremony to be co-hosted by Makido Film from Vienna, Austria; with special awards for two young Nigerian filmmakers for film internship in Vienna.

Hope Opara The President of Eko International Film Festival and Film Director Jeta Amata at the Haiti Pavilion during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in France.

The Eko International Film Festival has attracted world class films from America, France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Spain, Iran, South Africa and other countries. And the Nigerian premiere of Sharon Stone's highly acclaimed and multiple award winning documentary film “Femme” will take place at the film festival tomorrow Friday November 21. "Femme" is directed by award winning filmmaker Emmanuel Itier known for his popular documentary "Invocation". FEMME is an inspirational voyage about women around the world who are actively transforming and healing global society of a daily basis. Starring Sharon Stone (Casino, Total Recall, Basic Instinct), Jean Houston, Marianne Williamson, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Riane Eisler, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire, Rickie Lee Jones, Gloria Steine and Nigeria's Eeefy Ify Ike who is a popular actress, model, motivational speaker, author, film producer and designer.

The theme of this year’s edition is “Nigerian Film Industry and the Media”. “No film industry can succeed without the media, because the media is in fact the vehicle for the promotion and appreciation of the film industry,” said Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President of the most popular Nigerian international film festival started in 2010. And he has been the major sponsor of the festival in spite of the enormous costs of hosting the annual event and international travels to promote the Nigerian film industry. Previous editions have received some corporate support from Heineken, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the official endorsement of the Lagos State government. The 2014 edition is sponsored by Mr. Opara's Supple Communications Limited with some support from MultiChoice Nigeria and Mnet Africa.


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This Universal Children's Day, Be One in a Million

SLOUGH, England, November 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

RB's ambitious campaign to tackle children dying needlessly from diarrhoea calls for action
Each year, over 800,000 children in countries such as India, Nigeria and Pakistan die from diarrhoea, claiming more lives than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Despite this, awareness of the true impact of diarrhoea in developing countries remains low. To help combat and raise awareness of these startling figures, RB - the world's leading global consumer health and hygiene company - alongside their charity partner Save the Children, have launched a new campaign, "#IGiveA to end deaths from diarrhoea", to raise funds to help put an end to children dying from this preventable disease.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141118/717420 )

The social media campaign encourages users to 'take action to end deaths from diarrhoea' with the overall aim to reach 1,000,000 actions. For every action taken RB has committed to donate US $1 to Save the Children so that on-the-ground programmes can be implemented to tackle diarrhoea deaths in developing countries.

Speaking about the "#IGiveA to end deaths from diarrhoea" campaign, RB's Global Director of External Relations and Strategic Partnerships, Patty O'Hayer, said: "Diarrhoea is an uncomfortable subject for many, but our own embarrassment creates a lack of awareness about its severity and impact on young children in developing countries. The '#IGiveA to end deaths from diarrhoea' campaign is the first step of a multi-year ambition to end deaths from diarrhoea in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. We believe that every child has the right to reach their full potential and that hygiene and poor sanitation shouldn't stand in their way. To coincide with Universal Children's Day on November 20^th, we're asking people around the world to take action against deaths from diarrhoea and show their support for the campaign to help put an end to this preventable disease."
The campaign is focused on 5 key actions - I Give A: second, share, shout, selfie and sign - each with its own specific online social media action. In the lead up to Universal Children's Day (20^th November) the campaign is calling on people to focus on one campaign action - "I Give a Shout" - and join the Universal Children's Day Thunderclap in support of the campaign.

Douglas Rouse, Corporate Partnerships Director at Save the Children said: "We are excited to be involved with RB's campaign and hope lots of people show their support and take an action this Universal Children's Day. For every action taken, RB will donate one US dollar to enable Save the Children to help save the lives of thousands of children. Interventions can be simple; just one dollar could provide soap for a family of five living in Pakistan to wash their hands for a month to reduce the risk of diarrhoea. So each individual action really can make a life-changing difference."

To get involved in the campaign and take action please visit http://www.igivea.net. Every action you take counts and can help improve the lives of those who need help the most.

Notes to Editors:

ABOUT RB plc.
RB (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser) is the world's leading consumer health and hygiene company. We work with the best people to challenge conventional thinking and keep giving people innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes, through our brands like Nurofen, Strepsils, Mucinex, Dettol, Lysol, Harpic, Finish and Vanish.

For more information visit http://www.rb.com, Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/DiscoverRB
ABOUT SAVE THE CHILDREN
Save the Children works in more than 120 countries and helps to save children's lives, fight for their rights and help them fulfil their potential. For more information visit: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk

REFFERENCES

1. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis for 2010 with time trends since 2000, Li Liu, Hope L Johnson, Simon Cousens, Jamie Perin, Susana Scott, Joy E Lawn, Igor Rudan, Harry Campbell, Richard Cibulskis, Mengying Li, Colin Mathers, Robert E Black, for the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group of WHO and UNICEF (http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612605601.pdf?id=8b69abadd6dadf97:611e36da:13da249eee8:-4c911364228801518)
2. UNICEF/WHO, Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, 2009. http://www.unicef.org/health/files/Final_Diarrhoea_Report_October_2009_final.pdf Last accessed 10 June, 2014.
3. The Lancet, Volume 381, Issue 9876, Pages 1499 - 1506, 27 April 2013.
4. The Lancet, Volume 381, Issue 9876, Pages 1487 - 1498, 27 April 2013.
   

SOURCE RB (formerly Reckitt Benckiser)
CONTACT: For media enquiries please contact: Kate Ward, Tonic Life Communications, E: kate.ward@toniclc.com, T: +44(0)20-7798-9928 / Edward Lamaison, Tonic Life Communications, E: edward.lamaison@toniclc.com, T: +44(0)20-7798-9994



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If Only Nigeria Had A Genuine Leadership, It Would Not Be in this Mess - Prof. Wole Soyinka

 Nobel Laureate, Emeritus Professor Wole Soyinka, yesterday, said if Nigeria had a genuine leadership, it would not be in the mess it has found itself, adding that the country should raise a monument for the missing Chibok girls.
He said this at the 66th foundation day anniversary and 2014 convocation ceremonies which held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/soyinka-suggests-monument-memory-chibok-girls/#sthash.AwUVJIg8.dpuf

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Nigeria's Energy Sector Encourages Growing Number of Female Leaders

Diezani K. Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources.
 Nigeria's Energy Sector Encourages Growing Number of Female Leaders  
Booming Oil Industry Provides Foundation to Close Gender Gap  

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As Nigeria's oil and gas industry flourishes, businesswomen across the country are finding greater opportunities to carve out their place in this male-dominated field.

Since 2010, federal initiatives, such as the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, have paved the way for Nigeria's energy industry to shift ownership from international oil companies to domestic investors. Organizations, such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria Council, are working to empower Nigerian women to move away from traditional low-capital businesses toward the energy industry's leadership positions.

Several female entrepreneurs in particular are working tirelessly to increase women's stake in the industry. At the helm of the movement is Diezani K. Alison-Madueke, appointed Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources by President Goodluck Jonathan, having previously served as Federal Minister of Transportation and Federal Minister of Mines and Steel Development.

"The fact that two of the biggest cabinet positions in Nigeria, petroleum and finance, are held by women, shows how far we have come," Minister Madueke told a recent meeting in Vienna, referring to the other prominent female member of the cabinet, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. "We are there not because we are women. We are there because of our competence as managers."

Another prominent industry leader is Bola Shagaya, managing director of Practoil Limited, one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria. Her businesses include investment in real estate, spanning across major cities in the country with more than 300 employees.

Moreover, the richest woman in Africa is Nigerian energy mogul Folorunsho Alakija, an entrepreneur who earned the title after the Ministry of Energy approved her oil prospecting license in 1993, granting her a lucrative block in Nigeria's coastal waters. Famfa Oil, which she controls, now holds a 60 percent stake in the oil field.

Other innovators in the field include Catherine Uju Ifejika, chairman and CEO of the Britannia U Group, a group of oil and gas companies, who said, "We are able to hold your homes together, and we are beginning to translate that into boardroom jobs, and then owning companies."

Winihin Ayuli-Jemide, a Lagos-based entrepreneur and former lawyer, is a leading activist of research on women in business and government. She argues that one of the reasons South Africa was the dominant economy in Africa for so long is that women were actively involved in businesses of all sizes. She advocates that it is now time for Nigerian women to think bigger and turn to booming areas such as oil and gas.
A McKinsey study titled Women Matter, found that companies with a higher proportion of female executives showed stronger financial performance than those with no women in top positions. The study discussed how women tended to apply certain "leadership behaviours" more than men such as people development, setting expectations and rewards and acting as role models.

Nigeria is the world's 14th largest oil producing country, with oil accounting for 95 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange revenues.

These materials are distributed by LEVICK on behalf of the News Agency of Nigeria. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE News Agency of Nigeria
CONTACT: Philip Elwood, pelwood@levick.com, (202) 973-5310, Patrick Pannett, ppannett@levick.com, (202) 973-5319

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"Ojuju" is Best Nigerian Film of the Year at AFRIFF 2014

C.J. "Fiery" Obasi's horror thriller "Ojuju" has won the best Nigerian film award at the 2014 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) that ended Saturday night at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort in Calabar, Cross River State.

C.J 'Fiery' Obasi with the AFRIFF Best Nigerian Film Award.
 

"Ojuju" beat the highly acclaimed "October 1" of Kunle Afolayan, "Invasion 1897" of Lancelot Imasuen and "Dazzling Mirage" of Tunde Kelani among other nominees. The movie that was shot on a budget is Obasi's second feature. His first feature "Jim & Joan" premiered at the 2012 annual Eko International Film Festival at the Silverbird Cinemas, Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos.
Acclaimed filmmaker Kunle Afolayan's historic fiction "October 1" won the most coveted Best Feature Film award in competition with more than 75 films. His film also won the Best Actor award for veteran actor Sadiq Daba for his role as "Inspector Waziri" in "October 1" and the Best Screenplay award for Tunde Babalola, the screenwriter.

Other winners include Andrew Dosunmu who won the Best Director award for "Mother of George"; Bola Agbaje and Destiny Ekaragha won the Viewers’ Choice Award for "Gone Too Far";Thishiwe Ziqubu won the Best Actress award for South African film "Hard To Get"; Joanna Lipper won the Best Documentary award for "The Supreme Price"; Samantha Nell of South Africa won the Best Short Film for "Stiff"; Naji Ismail won the Special Jury Prize for Egyptian film, "Om Amira" and Iquo Essien won the Best Student Short Film award for "Aissa’s Story".

L-R: Chioma Ude, Ramsey Nouah, Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Gov Imoke and is wife, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Kate Henshaw at the closing of Africa International Film Festival in Calabar on Saturday night.
 

"Ojuju" is Nollywood's most daring Zombie movie and joins the list of other Zombie movies in the horror genre.

Synopsis
Romero’s (Gabriel Afolayan) neighbourhood is in trouble. People are suddenly manifesting symptoms of rabid river blindness . With his friends, Emmy (Kelechi Udegbe) and Peju (Omawunmi Dada) he struggles to understand how the neighbourhood’s sole source of water supply could have been infected. However, there’s no time to ponder because they all must survive and fight their way through to escape the infested neighbourhood.  
Cast
Gabriel Afolayan (Romero) Omowummi Dada (Peju) Kelechi Udegbe (Emmy) Chidozie Nzeribe (Fela) Brutus Richard (Gaza) Meg Otanwa (Alero) Yvonne Enakhena (Aisha) Jumoke Ayadi (Iya Sikiru) Tommy Oyewole (Officer Lade) Emeka Okoye (The Chemist) Paul Utomi (The First Ojuju) And introducing, Kelechi Joseph (Teenage Boy)  
Crew
C.J. "Fiery" Obasi (Writer, Producer, Director, Editor) Oge Ugwu (Producer) Tunji Akinsehinwa (director of photography) Victor Akpan (Prod.designer/art director) Ebuka Mike Uzoma (Set designer) Frank Ekwem (AD) Albert Esu (Script supervisor) Muri Sabili (Production Manager) Lawrence Adama (Second Camera) Funke Olowu (Make-up FX) Yewande Adams (Make-up FX asst) Dorothea Nana (Additional Make-up) Murtala Abdulsalam (Gaffer) Sunday Adesugba (Sound) Peter and Young (Still Photography)  

About the Director
C.J. Obasi (also known as "Fiery") was born and raised in small town, Owerri, Nigeria. C.J. grew up watching Hammer House of Horror films and reading Stephen King novels. As a child, he developed a knack for drawing and selling comics based on all his favourite movies and superheroes at the time. Much later on in life, C.J. would put aside his degree in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria (UNN) to launch into film making, full-time. C.J., called “Fiery” or “The Fiery One” by many within and without the industry, has worked on short films, documentaries, TV series and music videos as director, writer, cinematographer and editor. Jim & Joan, his debut feature, was shot in his childhood home in Owerri, as well as some choice beach spots on Lagos Island. Jim & Joan, an art house surrealistic piece, was made without a formal budget, with financial backing from C.J’s friend and partner, Benjamin Stockton. Jim & Joan was screened as the Closing Film at the Eko International Film Festival in November 2012, were it was noted as “the most daring film” in the festival, and C.J’s work was compared to the Danish auteur, Lars von Trier’s expressionism. C.J. set up his company “Fiery Film” in 2012. Soon after, his friend Benjamin Stockton, a screenwriter and movie aficionado from California came on board to help run the company. Fiery Film is currently in post-production for a horror thriller feature film “Ojuju”, written, directed and edited by C.J. C.J. is also developing two feature films “Otown” a crime thriller epic piece, which C.J. calls his “Western in an Eastern land” and describes as “His exploration into genre-film making”, as well as an unnamed period piece. C.J. has also worked as an editor on productions, such as Apostates (a feature film), and commercials for brands, including Globacom.

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