HT takes top honours at INMA Global Awards for CSR initiative

The newspaper's 'You Read, They Learn' campaign not only won the top award in the category of Corporate Responsibility and Social Change but also the prestigious 'Best in Show' award

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | May 13, 2013

The Hindustan Times 'You Read, They Learn' initiative has won accolades at the INMA (International News Media Association) Awards 2013, held in New York on April 30, 2013.  The INMA Awards is a premier competition rewarding excellence in best business practices and marketing of news media brands worldwide.

At the conclusion of the 83^rd Annual INMA World Congress, the awards were presented by incoming INMA President, Yasmin Namini, Senior Vice-President and Chief Consumer Officer of The New York Times, amidst a gathering of more than 300 media executives from around the world.

Hindustan Times was awarded the first position in the category of Corporate Responsibility and Social Change along with the prestigious “Best in Show” award, signifying the top global initiative of the INMA Awards 2013 competition.

While congratulating the winners, Earl J Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO of INMA, said, “What we saw in this year's winning entries were multi-media news brands using many platforms to convey messages of vitality.”

In April 2012, Hindustan Times launched 'You Read, They Learn', an ongoing initiative to help educate underprivileged children. As part of this initiative, HT has been contributing an earmarked amount every day from each copy of Hindustan Times sold in Delhi-NCR towards creating a corpus that is funding the education of underprivileged children. By the end of the first year, the initiative has been successful in sending 10,000 children to school in partnership with Pratham and CRY.

Receiving the prestigious INMA award out of over 500 entries from over 60 countries provides a big boost to the 'You Read, They Learn' initiative.

Commenting on the award, Rajiv Verma, CEO, HT Media Ltd, said, “This is a very proud moment for HT Media. We thank INMA and the jury for bestowing this great honor upon us and for recognizing the true value of this initiative which was born out of a strong belief that a newspaper has the ability to drive positive change in society. As a newspaper, we are intrinsically linked to the cause of education and through this initiative, we wish to continue contributing to pre-primary and primary education. We firmly believe that education is every child's right and it gives us immense satisfaction that we are contributing towards this goal in our own, small way.”

Sanjoy Narayan, Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan Times, said, “We at HT are extremely proud of the 'You Read, They Learn' initiative which seeks active participation from our readers. It is indeed gratifying to receive this award; we are sure that this initiative will gain momentum as we go forward.”

Receiving the award, Shantanu Bhanja, Business Head and Vice-President Marketing, HT Media, said, “I'm privileged to receive this award on behalf of Hindustan Times and also on behalf of those millions of readers of Hindustan Times who in effect have lived this initiative with us and who have urged us on into setting up the HT Foundation for Change, so that they can contribute additionally from their own money and time. We are truly humbled to receive this award; equally, it also serves as great encouragement for the initiative. But, even more, I receive this award on behalf of those 10,000 children who went from street to school in the last one year through this initiative, underlining the real power of good and change that media can bring.”

The competition was judged by a global panel of 21 executives in the media and advertising communities from 14 countries: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, India, Pakistan, Peru, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

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