Exceptional Student Response to the First Edition of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards

JOHANNESBURG and PARIS, September 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

International Jury Chaired by Professor George Smoot, Nobel Physics Prize Winner, Meets in Johannesburg on 12 September to Select Winners

Student response to the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards organised by MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat Communications, has exceeded all expectations for its first edition. With final submissions coming in on 26 August, the total number of entries from secondary school students reached more than 500.

The DStv Eutelsat Star Awards take the form of a competition open to 14-19 year-old students in 42 countries. Students were invited to write an essay or design a poster on satellite technology and how it can assist further development of their communities, country or the African continent. The overall winner will be invited to see a live rocket launch and to visit Eutelsat's satellite installations in France. The winner of the Second Prize will visit Eutelsat in France and Merit award winners will win a trip to Johannesburg to see DStv's technical facilities and television studios at the MultiChoice Africa offices. They will also tour the Mindset education broadcasting facilities.

Following the designation of country winners by local juries set up in each participating country, a final international jury will meet in South Africa, Johannesburg on September 12 to select the overall African winners.

This prestigious international jury will be chaired by Professor George Smoot, astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner for physics in 2006. He will be joined by representatives known both for their commitment to development, education, science and technology, and to building science skills among African school children. The jury members are:

• Professor George Smoot, Jury Chairman
• Nadi Albino, Chief of Education: UNICEF South Africa
• Lauren Beukes, Author and Winner of the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award
• Professor OyewusiIbidapo-Obe, President of the Nigerian Academy of Science
• Dr Phethiwe Matutu, Chief Director: Human Capital and Science Platform, Department of Science and Technology of South Africa
• Khulu Sibiya, council member of the University of Johannesburg

A resource booklet for teachers and students was developed for the competition in addition to two 26-minute programmes, produced by Eutelsat, on the conquest of space and how satellite applications impact directly or indirectly on everyday lives. To give this material the broadest distribution, MultiChoice Africa leveraged multiple communications platforms including a specially-created website, its network of MultiChoice Resource Centres (MRCs) and the Mindset Learn channel. With over 400,000 visitors to the website in the first month, Eutelsat and MultiChoice decided to extend the closing date of the competition by three weeks to give students maximum opportunity to participate.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. With capacity commercialised on 27 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 30 June 2011, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 3,800 television channels. More than 1,100 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 700 commercial, technical and operational employees from 30 countries.

http://www.eutelsat.com

About MultiChoiceAfrica

MultiChoice Africa Limited ("MultiChoice Africa") is an African pioneer of pay TV services in sub-Sahara Africa, having launched the first digital satellite service in the 1980s.  The company is registered in Mauritius, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Naspers Group. MultiChoice Africa provides multi-channel digital pay television services containing channels from Africa, America, China, India, Asia and Europe. The company has over twenty years experience as a Pay TV operator in Africa, offering cutting-edge digital technology and a selection of DStv bouquets containing premium television channels for subscribers in 47 African countries and the adjacent Indian Ocean islands.

MultiChoiceAfrica provides its digital satellite television service - DStv - to subscribers' homes from two different satellites, namely: the Intelsat 7 ("IS 7") Ku BAND and Eutelsat W7 ("W7") Ku Band.

MultiChoiceAfrica provides a dynamic technology platform and assembles a range of bouquets built around compelling news, as well as premium movies, documentaries and sports channels for subscribers. Our mission is to constantly be at the cutting edge of new technology that enables DStv subscribers to enjoy the very best home television experience. 

SOURCE Eutelsat Communications