Congratulations to the Exeter Express & Echo for winning a young readers' award from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). The paper's Green Shoppers campaign, aimed at minimising the use of plastic bags, was considered one of the the best projects devised to develop the interest and participation of young readers.
The judges thought it a bold effort and praised the Echo for holding a contest in which the best bag design by a reader was printed on eco-friendly bags. The result? More young readers and a 25% decrease in the paper's circulation area in the use of plastic shopping bags.
The Echo won the brand category of the annual awards. The Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza was named "world young reader newspaper of the year. And the US title, the Lexington-Herald Leader in Kentucky, won a special literacy and newspapers prize for a serialised story project designed to teach children about US history and democracy.
The full list of awards can be found here.
