allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Belgrade - Appeals, Awards And Sights (Page 1 of 1)

With sessions over, the congress moved to the announcement of election results and presentation of awards. The election of the new Chairman of the IPI was communicated to delegates. He is Janne Sakari Virkkunen,

Senior Editor-in-Chief, Helsingin Sanomat, based in Helsinki, Finland. Mr Virkkunen has been a member of IPI since 1989 and a member of the editorial committee of the Finnish Newspaper Association since 1994. He succeeds Piotr Niemzcycki, publisher of the Polish daily newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza who had completed his tenure and did not seek re-election. The IPI's award for outstanding courage in journalism, the Free Media Award was presented by the IPI Director David Dadge to New York-based Talking Points Memo and received by its Managing Editor, David Kurt.

Then came the moment of honour for Africa and Nigeria when the IPI conferred a Lifetime Fellowship Award on a Nigerian publisher, Alhaji Ismaila Isa for his support to the work of the IPI and commitment to press freedom a former Minister of Water Resources in the Second Republic and Chairman/Managing Director of the New African Holdings (publishers of The Democrat newspapers). Captain of industry and Chairman of Bulet International, Nigeria's biggest indigenous construction company, Alhaji Ismaila Isa served on the Executive Board of IPI for twelve years (1995-2007).

In the first four years, he served as a Special Adviser, having succeeded the late politician Chief Moshood Abiola, publisher of the Concord group of newspapers. In the last eight years, he served as an elected full board member. According to IPI Director, David Dadge, Isa was honoured for "his many years of service to the International Press Institute."

Among the IPI delegates from Nigeria who witnessed the conferment of the fellowship were Alhaji Wada Maida, former Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Managing Director/CEO, Finlay Communications Ltd; columnist and Editor-in-Chief of Citizen Communications, Malam Mohammed Haruna; Executive Secretary of Nigerian Press Council, Mr Godwin Omole; the Chairman/CEO of Media Trust Ltd (Publishers of The Trust group of newspapers, Malam Kabiru Yusuf and the Chairman of Kwara State Television Authority and Publisher of The Icon magazine, Raheem Adedoyin.

IPI congresses are not all talk devoid of fun. Every year, the Host Committees in the different countries work hard to put together interesting events and tours for delegates. They are readily hosted by the Mayors of the host city, government's cultural and tourism ministries, Presidents and Kings to dinner in historic buildings, receptions and concerts by accomplished and celebrated artists. Members are also encouraged to bring their spouses as accompanying persons. While we are busy talking and propounding media theories at the sessions, the accompanying persons are taken on interesting tours to picturesque sites.

Some of the events lined up for members at the Belgrade Congress were the opening reception held at the City Hall, a welcome reception in the evening which was held at the top floor of Usce Tower, an ultramodern skyscraper that provided a panoramic view of Belgrade. The Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine also hosted delegates to a reception at the Royal Place. The venue of the farewell dinner was the medieval Belgrade Fortress and it closed with a brass band concert.

The dinner event I found most interesting was the one that took place at the historic and cultural showpiece of Belgrade. It is known as the bohemian quarters because it was the meeting place for actors, writers and artists. It is a pedestrian walk with cobbled narrow streets, old buildings and a long row of traditional restaurants. We were taken to one named "Three Hats" established in 1867, and like Johnny Walker, still feeding people! Hajiya Tani, Mohammed Haruna's wife and I sat with Ms Uta Meitzler, the IPI Press Freedom Officer in a quiet corner. At least, it was quiet until the folklore singers started their performance and the place came alive as they sang and danced. The food was delicious and had a home taste to it, which made it different from the cuisine we had been served anywhere.

The post-Congress tours and the accompanying persons programme featured tours to a complex of royal palaces situated in the residential area known as Denije Hill. One of them is the White Palace, a historic site that currently houses an art gallery, surrounded with parks, terraces, pavilions and concert platforms. Another interesting site was the Sumandija Hills and Topola, a 'small town where the first Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Empire began. It has a museum dedicated to Karadjordje, the Serbian leader and founder of the Karadjordjevic dynasty'.

Also included are tours of Belgrade's churches, monasteries and residences of their Patriarch. An outstanding site is the International Ethno Centre Babka in 'Kovacica village inhabited mostly by Slovak minority, a unique oasis of living traditions famous worldwide for naïve painting, original art and craft and a way of life almost untouched by global trends'. Accompanying persons who did not find any of these tempting could also go on any of the regular tourist package tours that were available.

I picked a small colourful brochure in the hotel which was the official tourist guide for Belgrade titled Green Belgrade. It had beautiful pictures of the many green parks of the city. Although I was too absorbed in the sessions to dash to a tour of gardens and park, I kept the brochure in my room and reading it provided a relaxation of some sort from the cerebral adventure that the congress was.

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