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FROM THE FIELD

MAG Angola latest update
01 Feb 2008 15:40:00 GMT
 Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
Website: Website: http://www.maginternational.org

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The MAG logo was clearly visible on billboards around the pitch during the recent Angolan Cup semi-finals and finals in November. The billboards mark the culmination of a very successful publicity campaign during the latter half of 2007.
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The MAG logo was clearly visible on billboards around the pitch during the recent Angolan Cup semi-finals and finals in November. The billboards mark the culmination of a very successful publicity campaign during the latter half of 2007.
Mark Naftalin
MAG ANGOLA'S PUBLICITY AND INFORMATION AWARENESS CAMPAIGN CONTINUES

Over the last few months, MAG Angola has begun a campaign in order to publicise its successful work and to provide up to date and accurate information about the significant levels of contamination in Eastern Angola.

Not only is such a marketing drive imperative given the decreasing levels of donor involvement in Angola, but the interest displayed by both the web-based and more traditional media reflects the importance attached to MAG's innovative approaches to demining and high productivity.

Indeed, although Angola is experiencing significant economic growth, many parts of the country remain very underdeveloped with a high degree of landmine contamination.

As part of MAG Angola's current outreach, recent publications and publicity have been in the following media spaces: Jornal de Angola, WFP, Angola Press (ANGOP), Mainichi Newspapers (Japanese newspaper), Televisao Publica de Angola (TPA) and Radio Nacional de Angola. Angola also expects to be featured soon in the United Nations Integrated Regional News Network (IRIN) and in O Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazilian newspaper). Additionally, MAG Angola has formed partnerships with other organisations including Casablanca, a national promotions agency.

These endeavours have resulted in, for example, MAG Angola publicising its logo in less traditional venues such as at football matches, and international fashion and music festivals. Such outreach has meant that MAG has been able to achieve substantially more public attention and thus raise its profile both nationally and internationally.

For example, MAG Angola's logo was prominently displayed on billboards during the Angola Football Cup. The games were transmitted throughout Angola on terrestrial television and throughout Africa on satellite television.

MAG Angola would like to express its appreciation to all those organisations and media outlets which have provided MAG with complimentary profiling and advertising.

MAG-LUANDA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LANDMINE AWARENESS WEEK

MAG has been a partner of the Luanda International School for over twelve months and has worked on a number of fundraising and mine awareness campaigns. The MAG-Luanda International School Landmine Awareness Week is just one example of the ongoing cooperation between the two organisations.

During October, MAG and the school undertook a Landmine Awareness Week to provide insight into the threat of landmines and educate students as to how they impede community development. Throughout the week, there were a number of creative activities including presentations and demonstrations by MAG staff, various displays, an odd shoe day, minesweeper chess and a one-handed lunch.

According to Colm McDermott, a teacher at the school involved in the organisation of the Week, the event was "a great success...As the main focus of the week was mine awareness and because we are a school, MAG was a great organisation to partner ourselves with because of their focus on education and their philosophy on long term sustainable development".

Earlier in the year, the School hosted a "night of a thousand dinners" which is part of an annual international initiative to raise funds to clear landmines and assist landmine survivors. In May, MAG and the School launched its first joint Golf Day. The inaugural fundraising event, which raised approximately $25,000, was a tremendous achievement and brought together a variety of companies and organisations currently working in Angola.

NEWS ROUND-UP

During the three months, MAG has attended meetings with various public bodies in both Luanda and Luena. Discussions involved the High Commander of Moxico Police, the Acting President of Moxico National Election Commission, the Director of Moxico Radio, the Deputy Director of the Social Action Fund and national demining ambassadors.

On 15th October, at the invitation of the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Women's Rights in Moxico, MAG representatives attended community celebrations to mark Rural Women's Day. MAG's presence at the celebrations allowed the organisation to develop awareness of its work among women and further research and learn about women's opportunities within Eastern Angola, thus enabling better streamlining.

MAG has obtained a detailed satellite image of the Tchawia minefield (highlighted in Issue Two of the MAG Angola Programme Update). The image covers the whole minefield and, in addition to MAG's Community Liaison Teams on the ground, will provide another source of information and data so enabling MAG to target its clearance to those most in need.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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