Ngala wins international excellence award

​North West regional program takes out international excellence award in Qatar

Western Australia’s leading not-for-profit parenting organisation, Ngala has won an Excellence Award for Social Responsibility at the 20th World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar.

Woodside supported the creation of Ngala’s ‘Nurturing the Pilbara’ program which began in Karratha in 2008 as part of the company’s commitment to community development and supporting its employees in the Pilbara.

The World Petroleum Council Excellence Awards (WPCEA) for Technological Development and Social Responsibility Awards recognise the world’s most outstanding projects and innovations in the oil and gas sector every three years.

The Excellence Awards recognise companies and public or private institutions, for projects or innovations that promote or operate with high excellence.

The 2011 Awards were presented by His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority.

‘Nurturing the Pilbara’ was recognised is innovative, three-year partnership, which provides responsive and proactive parenting education, resources and support services to families living and working in remote and rural communities in the Pilbara in Northern Western Australia.
The partnership aims to improve access to parenting facilities for families who live in these areas, as well as develop information and education resources for Fly-in Fly-out parents.

Woodside’s Community Relations Manager Jo Ferrie said the award was a prestigious recognition of the contribution Ngala had made to the Pilbara region and parents living in remote locations throughout the State.

“Our partnership with Ngala is helping to create a stable and engaged population in the North West of Western Australia. Retaining families in remote communities in the Pilbara also encourages the establishment of schools, healthcare facilities and shopping precincts, which are the backbone of all successful communities,” she said.

The “Nurturing the Pilbara” project team has developed partnerships with many local organisations to support parents and families in the communities of Karratha, Dampier, Wickham and Roebourne.  On each site visit, activities have focused on building and maintaining relationships as well as being responsive to partnering opportunities.

Ngala has developed extensive partner networks with nearly 40 local organisations and agencies at all levels, working with local government, and state government Departments of Health, Justice, Education, Disability Services, Community, and Child Protection. Through providing training for professionals from these agencies, Ngala has worked to better equip staff in their goal of meeting parenting needs and engaging with the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families in the community including Indigenous families, families with disabilities, Indigenous carers for children in care and also parents in Roebourne Prison.

Ngala Chief Executive Ashley Reid said he was really excited the project had received recognition at a global level competing against many other social responsibility projects entered by oil and gas companies globally.

“A key achievement of the ‘Nurturing the Pilbara’ project has been its ability to bring together multiple partners to work together to achieve successful outcomes on the ground within these remote communities. It is our view that this model of collaboration and capacity building can be successfully reproduced by the resource sector across many regional communities,” he said.

Ngala is Western Australia’s leading not-for-profit provider of early parenting services for families with children aged 0 to 6 years working across parenting education, community programs, helpline services, consultations and intensive programs.

Pierce Riemer Director General of the World Petroleum Council was delighted with the high standard of submissions.

“Our WPC Excellence Awards recognise companies engaged in the oil and gas industry that operate to the highest standards, and we have been impressed with the high level of the nominated projects. With over 100 submissions the independent judging panel had an extremely difficult task selecting the best projects,” he said.

WPCEA for Social Responsibility – Winners

Small to medium sized companies: Woodside – Ngala: Nurturing the Pilbara
Large Companies & NOCs: Exxon Mobil Corporation - NightWatch Campaign to Fight Malaria

WPCEA for Technological Development – Winners

Small to medium sized companies: Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) - Recovering waste hydrocarbon streams
Large Companies & NOCs: Exxon Mobil - Remote Reservoir Resistivity Mapping (R3M)

All the projects are being showcased at the Digital Poster Plaza in Hall 8 at QNCC.

About the 20th World Petroleum Congress

Theme: Energy Solutions for All - Promoting Cooperation, Innovation and Investment
Date: 4-8 December 2011/Place: Doha, Qatar - Qatar National Convention Centre
Official 20th WPC website: www.20wpc.com

The World Petroleum Congress consists of a 5-day congress, the largest of its kind in the world with 5000 delegates, 600 media and over 550 presenters.

About the World Petroleum Council

The World Petroleum Council was founded in London in 1933. It is an international, unbiased, non-political organisation that provides a forum for discussing world issues facing the oil and gas industry.

Judges of the WPCEA

• Dr Nabeel Al Salem, Deputy Director, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)
• Robert Cox, Technical Director, IPIECA
• César González Neumann, Executive Secretary ARPEL
• Jim Shaw, Manager Community Relations, CCS Corporation, Canada
• Donna Shepherd, Director, Creating Communities Australia (CCA), Australia
• Michael Engell-Jensen, Executive Director, OGP
• Torstein Indrebø, Secretary General, International Gas Union
• Martin Maeso, Technical Director, Energy Institute, UK
• Elena Nekhaev, Director, Resources and Technologies, WEC
• Prof Anatoly Zolotukhin, Vice Chancellor, Gubkin University of Oil and Gas, Russia