Best article on school feeding: Kyrgyzstan announces competition for journalists

Journalists and bloggers in Kyrgyzstan are offered an excellent opportunity to showcase their professional skills while making a meaningful contribution to the improvement of school feeding across the country. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, in collaboration with the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), is pleased to announce the "School Meals: Caring for the Future" competition. This contest will serve as a platform for discussing critical issues related to school feeding and draw public attention to this vital topic.

What is the competition for?

We all understand the importance of healthy nutrition for our children, who need to consume balanced and nutritious meals both at home and school. Therefore, the objective of this competition is to elevate the National School Feeding Programme, which strives to enhance the quality of school meals. We encourage journalists and bloggers nationwide to actively participate in discussing and promoting school meals-related topics. This initiative will not only raise public awareness but also engage parents, teachers, and all interested parties in efforts to improve the school feeding system.


Who can participate?

If you are a full-time or part-time journalist for a print media, TV channel, radio station, or online resource or a blogger with an audience of over 10,000 subscribers, this competition is for you! You can join individually or as a team from your editorial office.

Ideas for coverage

We invite you to explore and prepare materials on the following themes:

• general issues related to the implementation of the National School Feeding Programme and the project, which aims to optimize school meals jointly with the UN World Food Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic;
• financial aspects of the School Meals Optimization project (financing from the republican and local budgets, product prices, food inflation, etc.);
• modernization of infrastructures of school canteens and catering units;
• support for local agricultural producers (the share of local products in school meals, development of cooperation with the local agro-industrial sector);
• public and parental control (how parents participate in the organization of school feeding);
• personnel issues in school feeding (shortage of cooks, training of professionals, finding solutions to existing problems, stories of school cooks: how and why they decided to choose this profession, etc.);
• formation of healthy eating habits at school and at home (how the government, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, regional municipalities, schools, and donor organizations participate in popularizing healthy eating among schoolchildren and their parents).

How to apply?

From June 20 to October 21, 2024, you can submit your application for participation via Google Forms or send your materials to the email address schoolmealsawards@gmail.com. Follow the link to learn more about the competition rules.

Prizes and awards

The applications will be evaluated by a jury from October 22 to November 4, 2024. On November 7, in celebration of Journalists' Day, we will announce and honor the winners. The top entries will receive vouchers for the purchase of equipment in the amount of 150,000 soms. Moreover, all contestants will be awarded certificates of participation and invited to a reception at the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Don't miss this opportunity to contribute to a vital public initiative and earn well-deserved recognition for your efforts. We eagerly await your applications and materials!

Write, film, create, and inspire! Together, we can make school meals better.