Launched in August 2014, the Men of Honour Awards is Digicel PNG Foundation’s campaign against violence in Papua New Guinea.
It aims to break the cycle of violence by recognising honourable men in communities to lead positive change in PNG.
Into its 5th season now, Digicel PNG Foundation has received 464 quality nominations from which 65 finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges and 24 winners were announced at respective gala awards dinners.
What we want to achieve (objective)
“The objective of the MOH campaign is to break the cycle of violence by focusing on positive behaviour to create the world we want to see,” says the Foundation.
“Papua New Guinean men have been vilified for decades but there are honourable men who are alleviating suffering and preserving human dignity in the roles they play in their communities.”
How we want to achieve this
By bringing the stories of honourable men to the fore, we are able to identify positive male role models who will use their status to influence other men’s behaviour for the better.
The role of community nominations
Very little, if anything at all, has been done to acknowledge good men or help the struggling ones. Through the Digicel PNG Foundation Men of Honour Campaign, communities are encouraged to identify role models and positive behaviour; to look within their communities to nominate ordinary men who are doing extraordinary things.
“We invite individuals and communities to identify ordinary men who are doing extraordinary things that contribute to the reduction of violence in homes, workplaces, clans, tribes, villages, towns, districts and provinces,” continued the Foundation.
“It is a call to Papua New Guinea citizens and non-citizens alike to identify men of character to let their light shine.
“Digicel PNG Foundation does not go out and identify the men; individuals and communities must identify them and submit a formal nomination (using our form) to the Foundation.”
The Awards Gala Dinner
Following the nomination process, our independent panel of judges then meets to sort through all the received nominations and each select 3 finalists for their categories.
Following their selections, the judges then travel out to their communities to interview family, friends and community members to receive a full understanding of the nominees standing in the community and experience first-hand the impact they have made through their various interventions/efforts.
During this time, a camera crew also travels with the judges and Foundation team to capture on video the nominee’s story, which will later be edited and refined to a powerful 3-minute piece to be shown at the Awards Gala Dinner.
The Awards Gala Dinner is the evening when the nominees’ stories are shared to an audience of 500 who have purchased pre-sold tickets to attend the dinner. The funds raised there are utilised in the MOH Advocacy Program, which runs for a year and utilises the finalists to raise greater awareness about the campaign in schools, tertiary institutions, corporate organisations, communities and churches all over PNG.
Think about the men you know and the qualities and values they bring to their work, their families and their communities. Nominate your man of honour using this link: https://trendmediapacific.wishpond.com/men-of-honour-awards-png/
(Isaac James was a recipient of the 2018 Young Men of Honour Award)