The Future Awards Africa receives UN endorsement, calls for nominations

Dignitaries, including Amina J. Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN); Hon. Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development; singer and songwriter, Yemi Alade; actors Timini Egbuson and Juliet Ibrahim; and Mohammed Yahaya, Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), were among guests at the launch of The Future Awards Africa 2019.

Held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, event also featured activities to commemorate this year’s International Youth Day, saw Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations endorsing the prestigious Awards, which has been described as the “Nobel Prize for young Africans”.

Meanwhile, the Central Working Committee for the award has announced the call for nominations for this year’s edition of the continent’s biggest youth awards scheduled to take place in November.

With the theme Nigeria’s New Tribe, The Future Awards Africa seeks to reward excellence and service amongst youth between the ages of 18 and 31. Over the years, the Awards has built a strong network of youth supporting each other in the leadership space, breaking boundaries to achieve distinction against barriers of tribe, religious differences, economic instability, and government policies.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Mohammed said, “Even while we all acknowledge our socio-economic issues and challenges, our hope for the future is bound on the talent, creativity, and determination in every young Nigerian. They represent the much-needed agents of change – a new and perfect direction in giving back power to our youth – so joining the new tribe should be a movement every young person should aspire to be a part of”.

“We are doubling down on the theme, ‘Nigeria’s New Tribe’ as there’s no better time to identify, acknowledge, and showcase a new set of bright, young Nigerians leading the charge to establish a positive, new narrative for the continent. We therefore urge everyone to nominate outstanding young people in different communities across the country so as to inspire many others who need models of hard work, creativity, impact, and integrity to emulate,” said Bukonla Adebakin, Chief Operation Officer, The Future Project.

Persons eligible for nomination must have made considerable impact within Nigeria and/or globally within the last one year and must have easily accessible documentation of their achievements. The public is encouraged to nominate trailblazers from their communities in categories ranging from social activism, business and professional service to media, and entertainment.

The Future Awards Africa has been called the ‘Nobel Prize for Young Africans’, and the ‘most important youth awards’ by Forbes. It is a set of prizes given annually to celebrate and accelerate innovation, creativity and enterprise amongst young Africans aged 18 – 31. It has produced over 150 winners and over 1550 nominees since its first edition in 2006.

It is presented in conjunction with The Future Project, which has a mandate to build empowered citizens across Africa, through (inclusive) enterprise and (active) citizenship. This focus on Human Capital Development is informed by our value proposition: Africa’s growth needs a generation of young people, who are gainfully employed and able to demand and secure better leadership.