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Why We Postponed The 2020 Indomie Heroes Awards
The year 2020 was marked by many uncertainties owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. An aftermath of the situation was the postponement of the 13th edition of the annual Indomie Independence Day Award for Heroes of Nigeria (IIDA) previously scheduled for October 2020.
The decision to postpone the awards ceremony was inevitable as a result of the seven-month-long planning time required to organise the event—a process made impossible by the rampaging pandemic.
Usually, the series of activities and engagements towards the event kicks off in April with a press conference. This is followed by a call for entries, a field search exercise, and a verification exercise to validate shortlisted stories. Judges sitting then follows with other activities in between. The entire process culminates in an award presentation in October every year since the first edition in 2008.
However, after assessing the developments associated with the COVID-19 pandemic which deducted months from our planning time, and considering the hazy outlook of the foreseeable future, the management decided to put off the 2020 edition of the noble initiative till 2021. For us, the primary concern was (and still is) the health and wellbeing of all our stakeholders, and we cannot afford to take any decision that is detrimental to this objective.
Nevertheless, our determination to keep the initiative alive saw us engage our research agencies to source heroic stories despite the challenging times.
While the award did not hold in 2020, the brand explored the opportunity to strengthen its database with a field search exercise for possible stories which will be considered alongside 2021 entries.
We salute the sacrifice and courage of medical personnel who risk it all to care for infected people and are help to curb the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
IIDA is the corporate social responsibility initiative of Dufil Prima Foods Ltd, makers of Nigeria’s No.1 noodles brand— Indomie Instant Noodles. The initiative is a national awards event which identifies, celebrates, and rewards the exemplary accomplishments of children who have shown courage and determination in situations that would ordinarily evoke fear. The award encourages excellence and diligence in children.
So far, IIDA has produced a total of 42 winners in the last 12 years who were rewarded with scholarships worth several millions of Naira from three categories physical bravery, social bravery, and intellectual bravery. With the scholarship awards granted, the winners have been able to overcome certain constraints which may have adversely affected their educational pursuits and life goals.