15th December, 2013
The Future Awards Africa 2013 will be formally opened by Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan at a special event celebrating the Best 100 – past winners at State House, Abuja, on Sunday 15 December.
The series of events will hold across the week until the 2013 awards ceremony,
which holds on 20 December.
The Federal Government of Nigeria will host 100 of the Future Awards most distinguished alumni at the State House to celebrate past winners and the awards going pan-African for the first time. The Future Awards recognise and reward the success and achievements of young people living in Africa.
This year 85 young Africans from countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Liberia have been nominated to receive awards. The Awards are
presented in partnership with Microsoft, the British Council, Nigeria¹s Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Access Bank.
Among the top 100 alumni is actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, named by TIME magazine this year as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The alumni will be joined by some of the continent’s most prominent businesspeople, philanthropists and politicians including Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank and Visafone, economist, banker and investor, Tony O. Elumelu, Chairman of Channels Television, John Momoh, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwunmi Adesina, and Nigeria’s Minister of Sport, Bolaji
Abdullahi. Nigerian TV presenter Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, presenter of Rubbin’ Minds, the popular TV talk-show for young Nigerians will present the evening’s events.
Chude Jideonwo, executive director of The Future Project and co-founder of The Future Awards Africa, commented, “The Future Awards Africa have inspired a new generation of leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs over the past eight years. This year marks an exciting new phase for the
awards and we are delighted that The Future Awards Africa will be going continental for the first time. We’re looking forward to seeing the Awards touch thousands of lives across our great continent and hope that the Awards leave behind a legacy that will be recognised for years to
come.”
The Future Awards Africa, described by the World Bank as ‘The Nobel Prize for young Africans’, are awarded to young people aged between 18 and 31 years old in 15 separate categories, including: advocacy and activism, business, agriculture, education and fashion. In just eight
years, the Awards have produced over 120 winners and 1,200 nominees in Nigeria and each year the Future Awards Africa’s online platform engages and inspires more than 20 million young people across Africa through its direct and online media engagement.
The Best 100 event is held in partnership with Microsoft, the British Council, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, and the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Devices and services giant, Microsoft will also launch its jobs and employability portal, Aiki.ng at the event.