PositiveNaija, Author at PositiveNaija

NiRA Awards 2017

The NiRA Awards 2017 recognises and acknowledges companies and organisations contributing to the growth of the .ng domain name registration.

NiRA is the registry for Nigerian Internet Domain Names (.ng) which maintains the database of names registered in the .ng country code Top Level Domain.

Winners

Best Primary school portal – Ifako International schools, Lagos

Best Secondary school portal – Shepherd International college, Nasarawa

Best Tertiary institution portal – University of Uyo

Digital innovation in local government – Amuwo odofin

Digital innovation in state – Lagos state

Digital innovation in federal government – Federal Road Safety Commission

Public sector star – National Bureau of Statistics

Making the internet a better place – National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)

Best print media – The Guardian Nigeria

Best media online website – Pulse Nigeria

Best electronic media (television) – Iroko

Best electronic media (radio) – Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria

Most valuable youth organisation – National Youth Service Corps

Startup company of the year – Eazyhire

Best payment website – Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System

Best Insurance company – Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund

Best banking website – Bank of Industry (BoI)

Most innovative service provider – Jiji Nigeria

Company of the year – Google Nigeria

Youth Development award – Startuparewa.ng

Women Development award – Saferinternet.org.ng

The Best Local Hosting Company – Garanntor for garanntor.ng

Supporting media partner – Guardian newspaper and Technology times

Special recognition of outstanding board members award – Mr. Biyi Oladipo

Special recognition award – Mrs. JAF Olushola

Winners: Best .ng registrar (four categories)

1. Silver- netorb media ltd

2. Gold- Icecool ltd

3. Platinum- McReal online networks

4. Standard level- Whogohost ltd

‘Nigerian Prince’

Faraday Okoro, a 30-year-old Nigerian-American filmmaker, has been awarded a $1 million grant for his film Nigerian Prince from AT&T in its first program to help emerging filmmakers.

Written and directed by Okoro, the movie will be produced by Biyi Bandele and Oscar Hernandez-Topete with a focus on underrepresented perspectives.

Nigeria Prince will premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

A New York City based Nigerian-American filmmaker, Faraday Okoro graduated with Distinction from Howard University and has MFA in filmmaking from NYU Film School.

But the money came with pressure: For example, it was to be filmed in Africa.

Tomi Adeyemi’s ‘Children of Blood and Bone’

Tomi Adeyemi, has landed a seven figure book-and-movie deal for her first novel, Children of Blood and Bone, which is described as a “Black Lives Matter-inspired fantasy novel.”

The film rights were purchased by Fox 2000 before the novel was released.

Tomi Adeyemi is a 23 years old Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, who graduated from Harvard with a major in English Literature before receiving a fellowship to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil.

Her debut West African YA Fantasy novel is CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE (Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan). The CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE movie is in development at Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions with Karen Rosenfelt and Marty Bowen (Twilight, Maze Runner, The Fault In Our Stars) producing it.

Beacon of ICT Awards 2016

The Beacon of ICT awards recognises organisation and individual contribution to the development of ICT in Nigeria, is an annual event organised by Nigeria’s Communications Week, the country’s leading and respected information and communication technology news medium.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) won the “Regulator of the Year” award for the contributions of Information and Communication Technology to the economy.

Simach Technologies emerged the “Best Indigenous Software Company of the Year”.

Inlaks Computers won “ICT Company of the Year”.

Cornerstone Insurance got the “Best Use of Technology Insurance Company of the Year”.
VDT Communications was awarded the Broadband Company of the Year.

Spectranet as the Best 4G LTE Provider of the Year.

Rack Centre as the ICT Infrastructure Provider of the Year.

The Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year went to Vodacom Business.

Priority Communications got IT Services Provider of the Year.

Tradeways Limited was awarded the Most Innovative Courier Operator of the Year.
The Managing Director of Sidmach Technologies, Peter Arogundade was the “Man of the Year”.

Biodun Omoniyi, MD of VDT Communications Limited, got the ICT Personality of the Year award.
The ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award went to the MD of Inlaks, Femi Adeoti.

Chairman of CNSSL Group, Gbenga Adebayo, was given the Life Time Achievement Award.

Otobong Nkanga Wins Belgian Art Prize 2017

Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga received the Belgian Art Prize 2017, the oldest contemporary art award in Belgium. The prize is accompanied by a reward of 25,000 euros.

Otobong Nkanga, 42, is a visual artist and performer who handles drawing, photography, installation and video. It focuses on the interconnection between environment, architecture and history. Political themes that are explored with poetry, between narratives and memories. For the Belgian Art Prize, she presents a sculpture and three textile works that intertwine awakened dreams and visions of the world.

The exhibition Belgian Art Prize is visible until 28 May [2017] at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.

The Nigerian fine artist, Otobong Nkanga, in 2015 emerged the first African to win the Yanghyun Foundation Artist Award in Seoul, Korea. She was selected for her outstanding creativity in media and motivational photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and video.

ICAO Global Aviation Training Award 2016

The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria has won the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Aviation Training (GAT) award 2016.

According to Abdussalami Mohammed, the Rector of NCAT;

“ICAO had identified NCAT as the training institute with the highest number of trained instructors in addition to highest number of ICAO courses.

This recognition puts the Nigerian Aviation Industry on the driving seat of global efforts at ensuring availability of well-trained aviation professionals to effectively establish more efficiency and safety in the industry.

In view of this recognition, GAT office gave NCAT more training allocations to conduct additional courses, which include Government Safety Inspector Airworthiness, Air Operator, and Approved Maintenance Organisation Certification, Government Safety Inspector Operations, Air Operator Certification Course, Government Safety Inspector Personnel Licensing Course and Dangerous Goods Part 1.”