The UniteHealth Social Media Awards were first established in 2014 to recognize the vital roles played by social media users in relation to key global health and sustainable development issues, and have three focused goals in 2023. The Awards are convened by UniteHealth, a community-focused organization dedicated to advancing global health through the strategic use of social media. Its mission is to recognize and celebrate excellence in the use of these tools, and to facilitate ongoing dialogue and discussion surrounding key themes and challenges in the field of global health.
Objective
- Identify and honour the COVID-19 influencers who emerged during the pandemic, and introduce them to wider audiences and across multiple platforms;
- Support the pandemic recovery phase by bolstering the valued social media connections that the pandemic has catalysed; and
- Strengthen preparedness against future pandemics and disease outbreaks by sharing lessons learned around social media ‘network readiness’
The 2023 Awards
All nominee and voting information will be preserved as part of the COVID-19 Influencers Awards website for future reference, including key national COVID-19 influencers identified in each participating country.
This dual focus on nomination/voting steps and on Awards categories/country locations has been intentionally designed to drive maximum reach and engagement for the Awards, and also to drive exposure of nominees to growing audiences, boosting their following at all levels, and across multiple social media platforms. Naturally, the spotlight this generates will ultimately focus on individual award winners but the process will also have a deliberate ‘halo effect’ for all nominees and in all participating countries.
Participation is free and open to all. Nomination and endorsement/voting processes will require verified individual participation, with options for public anonymity. Agreed, transparent privacy and data protection/terms of use policies are being rigidly applied throughout.
Given the dynamic, varied – and at times controversial – nature of social media use during the pandemic, the COVID-19 Influencers Social Media Awards/categories are intentionally not associated with any specific social media platform, provider and/or tool.
Decisions of the 2023 Awards judging panel shall be based on transparent criteria and are final. Panel members and/or those linked with the awards secretariat and host/sponsoring organizations may be nominated but are not eligible for individual awards, and may not nominate or vote for award nominees.
