Phoenix Project shortlisted for major award

A Cardiff University project to improve health and reduce poverty in Namibia has been shortlisted for a major award in Wales.

The Phoenix Project, led by Professor Judith Hall, has been nominated for a St David Award, which recognises and celebrates the exceptional achievements of people and groups from all walks of life in Wales.

The Phoenix Project, a partnership with the University of Namibia (UNAM), has already made a major impact since its launch at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay by First Minister Carwyn Jones.

The project covers three broad areas - women, children and infectious diseases; science; and communication. Since the project’s launch, Cardiff University and UNAM staff and students have created more than 30 major work packages, with external funding of over £1m secured.

Highlights include:

• Transforming anaesthesia in Namibia by training the country’s first ever professional anaesthetists
• Launching major and successful road safety initiatives in Namibia, a country with the worst road safety statistics in the world
• Developing an open source software writing community in the country, which has spawned others in Africa
• Supporting and developing Namibia’s multilingual communities

Professor Hall said: “I want to pay tribute to the committed group of people from across Cardiff University who have worked across international boundaries to make a meaningful difference to the lives of many people.

“In addition, none of this work would be possible without our committed partners, the University of Namibia, whose staff have not only worked incredibly hard to make this project a success, but who have become our friends.

“We still have so much more work to do but, with the talented team that we have, anything is possible.”

The Phoenix Project has been shortlisted in the international category, which recognises an individual or group from Wales making an outstanding contribution internationally.

The Project won the International Collaboration of the Year award at the Times Higher Education Awards last year.