Riffa Views hails role of Bahrain Media

Riffa Views honored the members of the media at the “2009 Rave Reviews Media Awards” held last night at Riffa Views’ state-of-the-art conventions center, the Forum building. The media appreciation evening was organized in recognition of the value, commitment, and work of the media which has a proven positive impact on the kingdom in several accounts.

Present at the event were Yasser Al-Raee, Director of Real Estate Investment, Arcapita; Alfredo Laffitte, CEO, Riffa Views; Michael Braidwood, General Manager, Royal Golf Club and Bruce McWilliams, Director of Riffa Views International School. Together, they conveyed the message of the community of Riffa Views and celebrated with the media the milestone of over 50 villas handed over to homeowners.

Residents of Riffa Views voted for the winners of the “Riffa Views Residents Award” by selecting the English and Arabic news medium they considered has Best Taken Bahrain’s Positive Message to the World. The winners of this award were Gulf Daily News and Al Ayam newspapers. The winner of the first-of-its-kind “Riffa Views Best Magazine Cover Award” was Bahrain Confidential magazine. The award witnessed strong voting from the community of Bahrain with over 1,200 votes registered in Riffa Views’ website.

Special Awards were also presented to those members of the media that have executed their job in a unique way and have gone over and above their call of duty. The award for the Most Consistent and Prominent Coverage of Bahrain’s Farming Heritage at the 2009 Bahrain International Garden Show (BIGS 09), was presented to Amina Al Zain from Al Waqt newspaper and Anasuyan Kesavan from Gulf Weekly. For Showcasing the Essence of the Eden Challenge at the BIGS 09, Bedoor Al Malki from Al Bilad newspaper. Journalists Karim Hamed from Akhbar Al Khaleej, Bonny Mascarenhas from Bahrain Tribune and Nader Al Ghanem from Al Bilad received an award for their Exceptional Presentation of the Vision of Riffa Views. The magazine Gulf Financial Insider was presented with an award for The most Constructive and Positive Reaction to Client Feedback.

At the event, Mr. Laffitte also unveiled that Riffa Views has won an Award at the Arabian CNBC Property Awards in each of the following categories: Best Golf Residential Development, Best Marketing Campaign and Best Website. Mr. Laffitte added: “I would like to thank all of you, who have been so important in this success. This achievement would not have been possible without your support for the development and growth of not only Riffa Views but of Bahrain as a whole.”

General Media Awards:
Media Awards were presented starting with the daily and the weekly newspapers; Akhbar Al Khaleej, Al Ayam, Al Bilad, Al Wasat, Al Waqt, Al Watan, Bahrain Tribune and Gulf Daily News, Al Ahad, Al Aswaq, and Gulf Weekly. Then, the magazines including;
Gulf magazine, Arabian Homes, Arabian Knight, Areej, Aqar, Bahrain Confidential, Bahrain Telegraph, Bahrain This Month, Clientele, FACT, Gulf Construction, Gulf Financial Insider, Layalina, Mondanite, Oh La La, Time Out Bahrain, Signature and Woman This Month. Riffa Views also awarded TradeArabia, Bahrain FM 96.5, Voice FM 104.2, Bahrain Radio 801 AM, Bahrain TV, channels 44 and 55 and CNBC, CNBC News Arabia.

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Riffa Views Announce 2009 Awards at RVBIGS

Using the backdrop of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand, Riffa Views announced the award winners of their competitions around the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show 2009 (RVBIGS 09) – the Overall Winning School of the Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009 and the exhibitor with the ‘Best Stand of RVBIGS 09’.

The Overall Winning School of Riffa Views Eden Challenge 2009, chosen from the four category winning entries displayed on the stand and announced by Chris Beardshaw, Riffa Views Ambassador for Landscapes and Gardens, and Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al-Khalifa, Director of the BIGS Organising Committee, was The Khawla Secondary Girls School.

The Khawla Secondary Girls School project presented a Water Conscious Garden. The winning Water Conscious Garden depicts a wide range of the complex possibilities that a designed landscape can offer. Using the Riffa Views Eden Challenge logo as a base, the winning design blends water with drought tolerant plants and synthetic materials to highlight the principles and use of water movement and water conservation.

In making the announcement, Chris Beardshaw commented on how difficult the task of choosing an overall winning school had been, “The standard of all the schools’ entries this year and in particular the four category winners has been tremendously high; to choose a ‘champion of champions’ has been incredibly hard. I am extremely encouraged by the focus that the students placed on environmental issues and delighted that the Riffa Views Eden Challenge has inspired Bahrain’s younger generation to consider the importance of their surroundings. I am very comfortable that the kingdom is heading in the right environmental direction.”

Highlighting the winning entry from The Khawla Secondary Girls School, he said “The Khawla project captured the real spirit of the Eden Challenge through the efforts, enthusiasm and dedication of the students and staff. It demonstrated a diversity of ideas and initiatives around the Show’s theme of ‘Water for Life’ and a capability to be expanded and developed into a wider concept that could truly benefit the island’s community.”

The Principal of The Khawla Secondary Girls School, Mrs Seham Al Kooheji, along with students and supervising teachers from the project team were on the Eden Challenge Exhibits Stand to hear the announcement and were thrilled to go up to receive their trophy and the award of BD3,000 towards the school’s environmental activities.

Mrs Al Kooheji said “We had great faith in our Eden Challenge team and the exceptional work of the students, we are all very proud to have won the competition. We would like to thank Her Highness Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, wife of the King of Bahrain for her support of the Show and Riffa Views, in particular the Riffa Views Eden Challenge Team, for giving us this opportunity. We want to compete again next year as we believe the competition teaches the students a lot about creativity and teamwork.”

Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views, congratulated not only the winning school, but also the other three category winners and all the schools who took part in this year’s competition. He said “The Eden Challenge has developed far beyond what we envisaged; we are delighted by the number of schools that have taken part and the wonderful job that all the schools have done, as demonstrated by the quality of the four category winners. Well done and a very big thank you to all involved and in particular, The Khawla School for being chosen as the Overall Winner.”

Chris Beardshaw and Shaikha Maram also announced the winners of the Riffa Views’ ‘Best Stand of RVBIGS 09’ awards. Much coveted by all exhibitors, this year’s top award has gone to Jannusan Exotics, who received a trophy and a prize of USD5,000. The 1st Runner-Up was the Bahrain Ministry of Municipalities’ Affairs & Agriculture, who received a trophy and a prize of USD3,000; the 2nd Runner-up was The Riffa Views Farmers Market, who received a trophy and a prize of USD2,000, which Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views confirmed, will be donated to charity.

Jannusan Exotics is a nursery based in Bahrain, supplying plants, trees, pots and other garden decorations from all over the world. Commenting on the winning stand, Chris Beardshaw said, “The Jannusan stand is very innovative in design style and in many ways, presents a ‘brave’ new concept. It displays a non-traditional, very contemporary approach that sets a new benchmark for future exhibits and is very much part of the process by which the Show will continue to develop on the international stage. The winning stand is certainly one that I could see having a rightful place at any of the big shows such as The Chelsea Flower Show.”

Commenting on the award, Richard Browning said “In working with the BIGS Organising Committee, it has always been one of our joint aims to raise the profile of BIGS. Encouraging exhibitors to participate and to participate at an increasingly higher standard of exhibit through an award such as this is an important part of having brought that aim to reality, which is evidenced by the obvious level of expertise and effort that has gone into the stands at this year’s Show.”

Riffa Views TV – Episode 7: “Rave Reviews” Media Awards

“Rave Reviews” – the media event held by Riffa Views in honour of the media in Bahrain on 16th April 2008, celebrated the excellence of the local media and hoped to succeed in making the event a forum that brings together all the people who lead the growth and success of Bahrain.

“Rave Reviews” honoured media professionals for their contributions and also featured Media’s Choice Award 2008 to the news medium chosen by its peers based on ongoing commitment to community.

The event was presided over by Richard Browning, Riffa Views CEO and Hugh O’Shea, the Director of Sales and Marketing.

click to download Riffa Views TV Podcast 7