The BBC World Service has commissioned a young Ghanaian designer, Jery (Jeremiah) Obuobi, to design and cast the winning trophies for the first ever BBC Africa Radio Awards.

"I am honoured the BBC has trusted me - a young, unknown designer - to play a unique role at this special event," says 25 year old Jery.

"I have listened to BBC radio all my life and so this opportunity is like a dream come true."

"We recently signed off the final design and I am now getting down to the most exciting bit which is bringing my ideas to life."

Jeremiah Obuobi

Jery was just six years old when he first had aspirations of becoming a designer.

He hated wearing the same shoes to school and promised one day to design and make his own. As he grew up he nurtured his natural artistic skills by sketching everything from comic book characters for friends to teaching aids for teachers at school.

It was when a neighbour asked Jery to create gifts for three local artistes attending his party that Jery first knew that he wanted to make a living out of his passion.

He created some unique pendants using metal that were a resounding success with the artistes. Soon most of the guests at the party were making requests to have one made for them.

Today, Jery works across a broad range of design and with many materials to make possessions such as shoes, jewellery and lighting fixtures.

He has collaborated with friends to form a clothing line where he designs clothing accessories such as belt buckles and tie pins and he periodically works with his university lecturer to design and make furniture.

Jery also designs animated graphics and logos for local websites, his most prominent being the logo for the Association of Aerospace Engineering Students of Ghana.


When Jery first received the call asking him to design the trophy he initially thought it was a joke.

"I could not believe it was the BBC on the phone." Fortunately the Awards' Project Manager, Vera Kwakofi, convinced Jery it was for real, "After that I couldn't wait to get started.

"The biggest challenge was ensuring the trophies truly represents the strong brief that I was given - to reflect the vibrancy of broadcasting in Africa.

"I chose the profile of the continent - an image used many times by artists - but it's beautiful and powerful, any African seeing that image is filled with pride and love for their country."

The final design has been specially crafted from gold-plated copper with a base made from locally-sourced mahogany. "It was important to use high-quality materials, Jery says, because, "I expect the trophy to be in the winner's life for a long time. And I?m confident that the winners will love the trophy and that it will hold some very special memories for years to come."

The BBC Africa Radio Awards celebrates the excellence of radio journalism across Africa. The finals will be held on Saturday, 26 May 2007 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi Kenya.

Trophies presented will recognise the best Radio Station of the Year, New Radio Station of the Year, News Journalist of the Year, Sports Journalist of the Year, Local On-Air Campaign of the Year, Interactive/Talk Show of the Year and Young Broadcaster of the Year.

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