United General Insurance pumps K1m into poetry contest on Times Television

Genre : Cultural projects
Principal country concerned : Column : Poetry / story telling
Release/publication date : March 2015
Published on : 03/03/2015
Source : http://timesmediamw.com/yanjanani-chumbu-drops-second-album/ 3 March 2015


United General Insurance Company Limited (UGI) yesterday announced that they are pumping K1 million into a poetry contest known as Msalamangwe ya Ndakatulo which is being spearheaded by Times Television in partnership with Poetry Association of Malawi (Pam).



The poetry contest will screen on Times Television later this year.



UGI Business Development Manager, Atupele Mangochi, said as a company, they are interested in art, hence their keenness to sponsor the competition.



"As UGI we believe in sponsoring different social aspects. We have been sponsoring sports through airing of the TNM Super League but we also thought of looking into other areas, hence sponsoring poetry contest," she said.



Mangochi said when they were approached by Pam to sponsor the contest, they were impressed with the concept which, among others, aims at uplifting poetry skills in the country, motivate the youths and keep them busy.



"We would like to see the youth exposed through such platforms; so, as UGI, we have several services. We would like to use this platform to reach out to the youth and all Malawians out there," she said.



Mangochi said the K1 million sponsorship will cater for the prizes of the winners among others.



Pam's Paul Sezzie hailed UGI for the sponsorship, saying they have shown that they are a partner of poetry.



"When we approached them with our proposal, they were impressed and gave us the approval. We are thankful for this sponsorship and we promise that it will be used for its intended purpose. Poetry is growing and we are happy that companies out there are seeing its value," said Sezzie.



He said Msalamangwe ya Ndakatulo was expected to start with K100,000 as top prize but with the sponsorship from UGI, poets now have something to smile for.



"With this sponsorship, UGI has said they will give K450,000 to the winner, K250,000 to the runner-up and K100,000 to the second runner-up. They will also give out K50,000 and K150,000 to the other levels of the competition.



Msalamangwe ya Ndakatulo is a poetry contest which will see poets from the three regions specifically those reciting in Chichewa battling it out. The judges for the competition are poets Alfred Msadala and Norman Nyirenda of the 'Pala Nawona Nurse,' fame and writer Hoffman Aipira.



Several poets from the three regions have registered to participate in the competition which Times TV will be screening having also successfully run a dancing competition known as Ka Jive.



Time s G r o u p C h i e f Commercial, Manager Dumisani Ngulube, says through Times Television, they want to promote art in the country by among others giving them the platform to showcase their skills.



UGI is one of the country's leading short-term/general insurance companies and has been operating in Malawi for over 40 years.



With its head office in Blantyre and has branches in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, the company's focus is primarily on the general insurance sector. The conmpany's core competencies are that of underwriting and claims and some of the products it offers include personal and business insurances

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of