I Next wins another global recognition at WAN IFRA!

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers) World Young Reader Prize competition held recently at a glittering event in Vienna (Austria), showcased Jagran Prakashan Limited in bright light, when it proved once again that when it comes to excellence, it has no contest. This is for the consecutive time that I next has picked an award in World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN IFRA's) World Young Reader Prize competition by acquiring a special mention in the Brand category.

Wan IFRA's President Mr. Jacob Matthews presented the award to Mr Alok Sanwal, Project Head and Editor, I next. This award has been conferred on I next for its showcase event- Bikeathon, which comprise a massive 14 km cycle rally with more than 40000 active participants across 12 cities.

Another publication from the same house, Mid-Day, also won Jury Commendation award for its very popular, "Smoke free city' campaign, in the Brand category. Two other publications from India also received the honours- The Hindu and Mathrubhumi Daily, in Brand and Public Service category, respectively.

The awards were given to more than 24 projects from across the globe for excellence in disparate categories, with Brazil, Indonesia, India, Philippines, US and Portugal emerging as top winners. Among those present for the ceremony from Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL) were, Sandeep Gupta, Director, JPL, Anshuman Tiwari, Chief of National Bureau, JPL and Alok Sanwal, Project Head and Editor, I next.

In the round table section, Alok Sanwal, Project Head and Editor, I next gave a presentation on-"Winning strategy for engaging the young', in which he highlighted his experiences and experiments with the theme of "Total Youth Think', which forms the bottom line of I next, India's leading bilingual compact daily published by JPL. He also figured the identity and youth appeal of the tabloid. I next had won the top award in the same category last year too for its popular Health Meter campaign which was based on raising awareness about children's health.

The jury found Bikethon a clever concept not only from the marketing vantage point but also from the social activism and public involvement point of view. The event which takes place in November every year is already creating flutter in the cities.