Press Releases13 Mar 17

Church of Ireland 2017 Communications Competition Now Open: Call for Entries

Magazine, Website and Social Media Competition

The Central Communications Board’s annual Communications Competition is now open and invites entries within each of the following categories from Church of Ireland parishes, dioceses and affiliated organisations:

• Magazines
• Websites
• Social Media (including videos)

Quality of presentation, strength of content and outreach potential are once again to be the standards of excellence against which entries will be judged. The closing date is Friday 21st April 2017. Winners will be announced at the General Synod in the South Court Hotel, Limerick, 4th–6th May 2017.

Parish and diocesan magazines are important for the exchange of news and views in Church communities and printed media continues to play a vital role within the life of the Church of Ireland. In addition, websites help the wider community to know about and participate in the life of the Church of Ireland, whether in parishes, dioceses or affiliated organisations, as well as helping internal communications by providing a hub for information and interaction. Beyond this, social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Flickr create two–way platforms for communications, providing a potentially vast audience and offering innovative ways to assist in the Church’s ministry. This year’s social media category this year will also invite entries for videos of up to 5 minutes in length, reflecting an aspect of parish, diocesan or cathedral life, including youth work.  Winning entries will be profiled on the Church of Ireland website.

Within the Church of Ireland there are good examples of how all these various forms of communication are being used to build Christian community and communicate the Christian faith. This competition is an opportunity to learn what others are doing, to showcase good work and to join in.

CCB Chairman, the Most Revd Pat Storey, says: “There are multiple ways of communicating the Christian faith and the Church, whether in print, through websites or through the new opportunities opened up by social media.  Communication can be hard work but it is incredibly worthwhile.  I encourage you to send in your best work and we are looking forward to seeing how the different parts of our Church present themselves to the wider world.”

In the Magazine section, entries are invited in three categories:

• Diocesan Magazine
• Parish Magazine/Newsletter
• Church of Ireland affiliated organisation Magazine/Newsletter

In the Website section, entries are invited in three categories:

• Diocesan Website
• Parish Website
• Church of Ireland affiliated organisation Website

In the Social Media section, there are three categories:

• Most Innovative Use of Social Media e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
• Most Engaging Blog
• Most Engaging Video (parish/diocesan/cathedral)

Entries are welcome from any committee or group associated with the Church of Ireland.

Please obtain an entry form for the Magazine, Website, Social Media and Video categories from Peter Cheney, Church of Ireland Press Office (by email: press@ireland.anglican.org or phone: from NI 028 9082 8882, from RoI 048 9082 8882) and send entries as follows.

Magazines: One recent copy must be sent in hard copy with entry form to Peter Cheney, Press Office, Church of Ireland House, 61–67 Donegall Street, Belfast, BT1 2QH, Northern Ireland.

Website, Social Media and Video: Entry forms should be sent with an example or link including a description of the content and the objective of the initiative, to Peter Cheney, Press Office, Church of Ireland House, 61–67 Donegall Street, Belfast, BT1 2QH, Northern Ireland or to press@ireland.anglican.org

Remember: the closing date for entries is Friday 21st April 2017.