DEBSWANA SCOOPS TWO IABC GOLD QUILL AWARDS

Debswana is thrilled to announce that through the Corporate Affairs Department we have been, yet again, recognised by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) with two Gold Quill Awards. This follows our successful submission of two entries on the Jwaneng Mine Triple Zero Safety Campaign which won an Excellence Award, and the Debswana COVID-19 Communication Response Plan which won a Merit Award.

The Triple Zero Relay campaign started in April 2018 with the aim of running until December 2021, in line with our vision of ABSOLUTE ZERO HARM. The Triple Zero campaign is aligned to the Debswana Value of “Put Safety First”  and the main aim of the campaign was to drive a collective application of individual effort to achieve a shared objective. It also aimed to improve the level of commitment, morale and positive attitude amongst employees in order to jointly work towards a safe working environment.

The Debswana COVID-19 Communication Response Plan was in response to the outbreak of the corona virus across the globe which had a significant impact on Botswana and indeed Debswana. In order to uphold its commitment to putting safety first at all its operations, Debswana, like many other companies across the country and the world, developed a response plan to address and manage COVID-19 within the workplace. Due to extreme social distancing initiatives/lockdowns by Government, communication became a key driver in helping curb the spread of the virus not only within the workplace but across the globe. The primary objective of the response plan was to support and facilitate Covid-19 education, awareness, psychosocial support information and general employee communication regarding the company’s Covid-19 response.

For more than 40 years, IABC’s Gold Quill Awards have recognised and awarded excellence in strategic communication worldwide. The program is recognised as one of the most prestigious awards programs in the communication profession.

Head of Corporate Affairs, Rachel Mothibatsela said, “We are humbled to receive these Gold Quill Awards from IABC for the second year running, moreso that we have been recognized by both the Africa and global panel of judges. In 2020, we were recognised for two entries; the 50^th Anniversary Campaign and the Orapa  Mine Know Your Status Campaign. To be recognised again this year is testament to our continued dedication to communicating effectively and in the right way. The Safety & Sustainability team at Jwaneng together with the Corporate Affairs teams across our organisation are proud of this achievement.”