Voting open in DW’s annual Bobs Awards

Internet users around the world have until May 7 to vote on who should win this year’s Users’ Choice prizes in Deutsche Welle’s annual The Bobs Awards.

An international jury decided on the 364 finalists that are now in the running for the Users’ Choice prizes. Votes for finalists in The Bobs – Best of Online Activism can be cast at www.thebobs.com.

More than 4,200 websites and online projects from around the world were submitted to The Bobs – in 2013. That is 1,000 more than last year.

“It shows the wide range of ways in which people in the international blogosphere engage in promoting freedom of expression and political transparency,” said Ute Schaeffer, DW’s editor in chief for regionalized content.

Economic and social change, the right to water, women’s rights and the fight against censorship are just a few of the key topics addressed by finalists in this year’s awards, said The Bobs project manager Gabriel González.

Deutsche Welle started The Bobs – Best of Online Activism Awards in 2004. For the past nine years, the project has honoured work that connects cultures, creates transparency and builds online bridges capable of crossing language barriers.

This year, The Bobs will hand out honours in 14 languages – with Hindi, Turkish and Ukrainian joining for the first time. The Global Media Forum Award is one of the 34 categories in this year’s contest. The category focuses on the theme of the 2013 Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, which takes place June 17-19 in Bonn, Germany: “The Future of Growth – Economic Values and the Media.”

In addition to the Users’ Choice prizes, The Bobs jury panel will also give out awards in the categories Best Blog, Best Innovation, Best Social Activism, Most Creative & Original as well as a Reporters Without Borders Award.

A ceremony for The Bobs Jury Award winners will take place as part of the international conference on June 18 at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB).