On Saturday, the first stage of nominations for the third edition of Rwanda Broadcasters’ Excellence Awards (RBEA) was held at the Mirror Hotel in Remera.

Organised by the East African Youth Development Agency (EAYDA), the awards will see the most outstanding TV and radio casters, reporters, presenters, commentators, shows and analysts awarded, among others.

According to Emmanuel Mugisha, the head of the team organizing the RBEA awards, only outstanding journalists in electronic media will be recognised.

"We want to recognise the work being done by these journalists. This year’s event is different compared to the previous last two editions. We have increased the number of categories from 23 to 34, because there was an increase in the number of media houses and journalists as well,” Mugisha noted.

He added that this year’s edition will also include a special award for people who contributed towards the growth of the industry.

"We want to give a chance to the people who worked tirelessly in the media industry. There are people that deserve to be appreciated for their work,” he said.

The second stage of nomination of the best five people in each category will start today and end on December 29.

It will be followed by the official unveiling of the nominees the following day, as well as the official opening of online and SMS voting.

"Voting was previously done by a committee but this time round we want to give a chance to viewers to vote for their favourite journalists,” Mugisha explained.

The official award ceremony will take place on January 8 next year.

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