Sterling Bank Plc has unveiled the Recyclart Competition in a bid to influence how Nigerians dispose of items that could be recycled and change the way they relate to the environment.
Chief Marketing Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr. Henry Bassey, who disclosed this in a statement in Lagos, said the Recyclart competition is intended to be an annual competition that will encourage participants to create a visual representation of the value of recycling waste materials.
“The use of recyclable material forces artists and audience alike to rethink daily choices that impact the environment on an active and reflective note. This competition aims to bring to the eyes of the public an admission of a detrimental reality that now needs to be included in the national dialogue.
“The competition will serve as a means of empowering young artists and emerging talents across the country to use waste materials that are recycled for art in public spaces as part of an effort to preserve culture,” Bassey said.
He added that “taking care of the environment is a great concern to many and one does not have to go far to see the negative effects of improper waste disposal or how such practice is affecting the lives of many in the country today.”
He noted that discarded items such as broken car parts, steel, tyres, generators and old computers which are capable of being used and repurposed into art works litter the environment in every part of the country.
The CMO, therefore, called for entries from young artists and emerging talents across the country to make the first edition of the competition a resounding success. He announced that grand prize winners of N1 million each will emerge from four zones including Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and Abuja.
He added that winners in the competition, which will run for five months, will also enjoy the rare privilege of a solo installation/exhibition in one public community park or space. The objective is to spark discussion on the benefits of using repurposed materials to create art and spin a narrative to reclaim these same public spaces these materials had cluttered and littered for so long, he said.
Ultimately, the Bank hopes to awaken the citizenry to the need for a change of attitude in how they relate to the environment and rethink how waste can be disposed of in a creative manner. He added that through the competition, Sterling Bank hopes to provide a visual reminder and a platform that promotes the innovative use of repurposed material for art and the investigation of waste management as a national and global issue.
The competition is centered on methodology and creative production. Artists are, therefore, required to submit proposals for uncreated works. After the screening of entries, 16 finalists will be invited to make a miniature version of their proposed works.
GTB wins award at Worldstage Summit
Guaranty Trust Bank(GTB) has added another feather to its cap as it was named as the Nigerian Bank of the Year 2017 by the World stage Group.
The bank clinched the award in Lagos last Wednesday during the Worldstage Economic Summit 2017.
The President/CEO of Worldstage Group, Mr. Segun Adeleye, used the occasion to charge Nigerians and business owners within the country to imbibe innovation for economic development.
Recall that GTBank’s Bank 737, which provides banking services through mobile phone was adjudged Product of the Year in Africa from The Asian Banker.The bank also won the prize of the Best Digital Bank in Africa from Euromoney. Apart from these it was the recipient of six awards at the 2017 Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme Awards organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in conjunction with the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System(NIBSS) to recognise financial institutions, merchants and other stakeholders at the forefront of driving electronic payments in Nigeria.”
Presenting his introductory address at the summit, Mr. Adeleye explained that the theme ‘Transforming Business and Economy Through Innovation’ was inspired through a new thinking.
He said the reality of today is that “we have an economy where the majority is disenfranchised and trapped in irrelevance.”
He added: “ Yet we are at a time in history of information explosion when nothing is hidden about where countries are and where they want to be in the future. While we are still lamenting the lost opportunity to have developed with our oil wealth in the past, we can see the future unfolding before us, just as how the internal combustion engine is projected to die and the oil business, the mainstay of our economy is to become obsolete in the very near future.”
He said if the nation ‘knows the shape the future is taking, we as a nation cannot afford to be stranded with costly obsolete technology or waste valuable time before changing direction, unless we want to remain the dump site of the future.’
Other winners at the event include Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos who was named as the Nigerian Governor of the Year 2017 by the Worldstage Economic Summit (WES).
The Summit Principal Committee identified among all state governors, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as governor with a difference as a result of his efforts in new dimension to Infrastructural and Agricultural development in the State. His foresight in the production of Lake Rice is deemed unprecedented.
Other winners at the Worldstage Economic Summit held at the Nigerian Stock Exchange today include NIPCO Plc as the Nigerian Oil Marketing Company of the Year 2017, Guaranty Trust Bank as the Nigerian Bank of the Year 2017.
Other awardees are Nigerian Gas Company of the Year 2017, Nigeria LNG Limited; Nigerian Airline of the Year 2017, Dana Air; Nigerian Telecommunication Company of the Year 2017, MTN; Nigerian Newspaper of the Year 2017, The Punch; Nigerian Television Station the Year 2017, Channels Television; Nigerian Online Media of the Year 2017, Premium Times; Nigerian Regulator of the Year 2017, Nigerian Stock Exchange; Nigerian Public Institution of the Year 2017, Federal Inland Revenue Service; Nigerian Development Bank of the Year 2017, Bank of Industry; and Nigerian Airport of the Year 2017, MMA2