The prize giving ceremony for the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards) was held on 22 May 2012, recognizing three young bloggers and three organizations that write about agriculture, rural development and youth. The event took place at the Emperors Palace, in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the gala dinner of the Third African Chapter of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD).
The winners were awarded by CTA with cash prizes of up to 1,500 Euros for individual bloggers and 3,000 Euros for winning organizations and were sponsored to attend the IAALD conference, which focused on e-agriculture lessons and perspectives in Africa, along with runners-up from the blog competition. Awarded bloggers also received a trophy and a certificate from the hands of representatives of national and international institutions, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Secretariat of Pacific Community (SPC) and others. The prize giving ceremony was hosted by Peter Ballantyne, head of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and member of the YoBloCo Awards’ jury. Winners had the possibility to spend a few words about their experience as blogger and participant of the competition, and most of them expressed the intention to reinvest the prize in agricultural-related activities, as individual practitioners or for their organizations.
The winners stood out from a selection of more than 90 blogs, divided into an individual category (open to young bloggers) and an institutional category (open to agricultural and rural development organizations). Blogs first underwent a public evaluation process, in which they were voted and commented through the internet by about 3,000 people, and then a final evaluation performed by a jury composed of experts in ICT, agriculture and rural development.
After food and drinks, participants enjoyed an evening of live music and dance with a local band.
The YoBloCo Awards was launched in July 2011 by CTA in the framework of the ARDYIS Project.
The full announcement of the competition results can be found at:

http://ardyis.cta.int/en/activities/awards/item/136-results-yobloco/136-results-yobloco

More information about the YoBloCo Awards can be found on: http://ardyis.cta.int/yobloco/

Credit: http://www.cta.int/en/About-us/CTA-news/Best-ACP-young-agri-bloggers-recognised-in-Johannesburg-South-Africa