BUENOS AIRES - “It’s like David and Goliath,” remarked Pieter Jooste, marketing manager of the Limpopo Mirror newspaper on Monday when he accepted the World Reader Prize at a function in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Next to him on the podium sat John Walshe, Education Editor of Ireland’s biggest daily newspaper, the Irish Independent. The two papers were this year’s joint winners of the competition.

The trophies were handed over during the 6th World Young Reader Conference. This conference takes place every two years and is held under the auspices of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Hundreds of delegates from all across the globe attended the function, listening to presentations and discussing the latest trends on how to increase circulation amongst young readers.

“We are fortunate enough to have a record number of delegates from 67 different countries attending this year’s conference,” said Aralynn McMane, Director Development and Education of the WAN, on Monday morning when she introduced the speakers.

The hundreds of delegates from the most prestigious papers around the world listened attentively as the two winners described the projects they entered for this year’s competition. The Irish Independent launched a series of booklets, called Eureka, which concentrated on science. These supplements were made available to schools and could be used as a valuable educational tool by teachers. The project increased this national daily paper’s circulation by some 22 000 copies every week when it was published.

But it was the “little” newspaper from the northern parts of Southern Africa that grabbed the attention of the delegates with its very ambitious project called Science of Life. The Science of Life was a series of educational supplements published at the end of 2004 in the Limpopo Mirror and its sister paper, the Zoutpansberger. The 16 different editions focused on the educational needs of primary school children and were an effort to address the lack of proper materials in the especially rural schools. The supplements were combined with teacher workshops, explaining how the newspaper material could be used in a classroom to enhance life skills. Later on, the educational material was made available free of charge on the Internet.

The judges were especially impressed with the technological link in the project, which meant that the material was made available free of charge to any other newspaper anywhere in the world.

The World Young Reader Prize was sponsored this year by Norske Skog, a leading paper manufacturer in the world. They were represented by Antonio Dias, Executive Vice-president of Norske Skog South America, who made the trip to Buenos Aires possible for the delegates of both winners, through a generous sponsorship.

“This experience has certainly broadened my horizons insofar as youth media and newspaper education is concerned, and we will be bringing fresh and innovative ideas home with us,’ said Pieter Jooste.

“For a South African newspaper to win a competition like this is an incredible feat,” says Anton van Zyl, manager of the Zoutnet group of newspapers. “If that paper comes from a predominantly rural area in one of the poorest provinces of the country, it is even more special,” he added.