Jan 24, 2000

Agfa Photo-Millennia Inspires Photographic History

The prize distribution ceremony of the Agfa Photo-Miliennia photography contest was held at the Karachi Marriott hotel recently. The chief guest was Professor Miss Anita Ghulam Ali, the Provincial Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports.

The contest which was the first of its kind, was an Asiatic Public Relations special event to honour the contribution of photojournalists in Pakistan. It was sponsored by Agfa-Gevaert Pakistan Ltd., and was open to all press photographers.

The entries in the contest, which were sent by photographers from all over Pakistan, were judged by a panel of prominent personalities comprising of Professor Miss Anita Ghulam Ali, the Provincial Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, Jahangir Khan, the squash legend and Dr. Behrouz Hashim, Secretary, Photography Society.

"lt was not entirely an easy task for the judges to select the best six photographs, because of the exceptionally high standard of photography and the rather poetic composition of the photographs that captured more than words can ever say. However, to ensure the impartiality of judging, all the entries were exhibited for the participants to see", said Behrouz Hashim.

The winners in each of the two categories i.e. Last Sunset of 1999 and First Sunrise of 2000 were awarded trophies and cash prizes by the Chief Guest, Professor Miss Anita Ghulam Ali.

In the Last Sunset of 1999 category, Mr. Mohammad Asghar Bhatti won the first prize of Rs. 10,000, the second prize of Rs. 6,000 was won by Mr. M. Rizwan Bhatti and the third prize of Rs. 4,000 was won by Mr. Mohammad Mahmood Qureshi, respectively.

In the First Sunrise of 2000 category, Mr. Jalaluddin Qureshi won the first prize of Rs. 10,000, the second prize of Rs. 6,000 was won by Mr. Saeed Iqbal and the third prize of Rs. 4,000 was won by Mr. Haider Abbas Jaffri, respectively.

Agfa Gevaert Pakistan (Pvt). Ltd is one of the leading suppliers of photography products and equipment in Pakistan. Established in 1952, the company has since been providing amateur and professional photographers alike with high quality films, and photolabs with state-of-the-art equipment. With its head office in Karachi, Agfa has nine branch offices, thirty mini-labs and a hundred and ten Agfa Rapid photolabs spread all over the country.

Asiatic Public Relations Network (Pvt.) Ltd. is one of Pakistan's leading public relations and marketing communications consultant. Based in Karachi, with an office in Lahore and representation in Islamabad, it is staffed with highly trained and experienced professionals. Furthermore, APR's association with Hill and Knowlton, worldwide counsel, adds to its expertise, making it a local company with an international reach. 

World Gold Council Launches Zargalli 2000 Website

The World Gold Council recently announced the launching of www.zaraalli.com - the Zargalli 2000 website.

This is for the first time in Pakistan that a website for a jewellery design contest has been launched. It is a very comprehensive site and contains all the relevant information about the Zargalli 2000 gold jewellery design contest. Furthermore, it also contains links to various international jewellery design contests' sites, jewellery sites and gold websites.

The website also has exhaustive information about the Zargalli 1999 gold jewellery design contest, along with the photographs of the winning pieces, the winners' comments and their details.

Zargalli 2000 has been launched following the runaway success of Zargalli 1999, last year's gold jewellery design contest. The event, which is open to the general public, invites a maximum of eight designs - two in each of the four categories, from each participant. February 15, 2000 is the last date for submission of designs.

Out of all the designs submitted, the most eye-catching ones will be short-listed by eminent judges and the best designs in each of the four categories - bracelet earning, necklace and nng. The World Gold Council has announced attractive cash prizes of Rupees 50,000/-, 25,000 and 12,500/- respectively for 1't, 2nd and 3rd prize in each category.

The short-listed designs will also be fabricated into jewellery pieces and marketed throughout Pakistan by the co-sponsors of Zargalli 2000.

The World Gold Council is confident that Zargalli 2000 will exceed last year's contest's performance, in which about 1650 designs were submitted by more than 500 designers. Out of these 1650 designs, 46 were short-listed by the judges and displayed at exclusive fashion shows held in Karachi and Lahore. And from these 46 designs, the six best designs were given cash prizes.

"We are committed to making Zargalli 2000 an even bigger success than Zargalli 1999, and in fact, we are committed to the success of this event in the long run. This is why we have launched this very comprehensive and informative website - www.zarqalli.com, which is the first web site of its kind in Pakistan," said Yousuf Akhtar Hussain, Manager Pakistan and Egypt, World Gold Council.

The World Gold Council is a non-profit organisation representing the interests of gold producers worldwide. Its primary objective is to identify markets in countries with a high potential for gold consumption and to increase the global off-take of gold.