BLAJA in Beijing

Winners of the 8th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards (BLAJA) traveled ot the Chinese capital this month as part of their prize in the annual competition for agribusiness writers, photographers, and broadcast journalists.  Among the places they visited were the Great Wall of China’s Juyong Pass; Tianenmen Square and Palace Museum in the Forbidden City; as well as the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest stadiums at the Beijing Olympic Park.

The most outstanding agriculture stories and photos of 2014 of some 500 entries nationwide, with the country’s three major geographical areas equally represented by the top nine awardees, namely: Gabriel Cardinoza, Harley Palangchao and Mauricio Victa (Luzon); Cherry Ann Lim, Liberty Pinili and Flornisa Gitgano (Visayas); Henrylito Tacio, Ruben Gonzaga and Malu Manar (Mindanao).

They also took a gastronomic tour of CNN Travel’s best Beijing restaurants, including world-famous Da Dong Peking duck resto on the 2nd Ring Road, and chef Michelle Garnaut’s Capital M at Qianmen, Beijing’s stylish version of the iconic M on the Bund in Shanghai.

Project director Didet Danguilan said that the BLAJA’s 2015 edition is open to any Filipino professional whose entry is published or sired between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015.  Road shows are being conducted across key Philippine cities prior to the Sept. 4 deadline for submission of entries.  For more information, visit www.thebrightleafawards.com or call the BLAJA secretariat at 0915-550-8301 and 0918-413-0797.