23rd July, 2020
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Ralph Leonard is a British-Nigerian writer born in Eastbourne, Southern England, in 1996. He is a contributor to Areo magazine and has done previous work for NOTA Network.
He writes on issues concerning politics, religion, culture, human rights, and international affairs. As an ardent secularist and leftist, Ralph is critical of certain failings of many sections of the existing Left, submitting to conservative thinking such as it’s embrace of isolationism against international solidarity and identity politics against universalism. At its root this critique is a demand to uphold the legacy of the Enlightenment in terms of universal values and the project for the emancipation of humanity.
When asked about his nominations for JOM Charity Awards, He said, “This nomination is of great importance to me, because if I do get to win the Award, it will be for all the people of my country, because as a writer my inspiration comes from collective experiences in some cases, transmitting a collective voice … even if my contribution are written in the first person.”
Relatively, JOM Charity is one of the first Art and well-being Charities founded by a woman of Black African descent, Josephine Oboh-Macleod, and she also created the JOM Charity Awards.
The award is one of the most prestigious. The location of the award ceremony switches between the two countries each year.
The Award is awarded annually, alternating between the two countries, and based on a decision of a specially designated jury. The aims is to recognize and celebrate stand-out individuals from the humanitarian aid, development community, innovations, Entrepreneurship, entertainment, etc
Deciding who wins the JOM Charity Awards is no small feat, with a six-person panel deciding, including judges from both UK and Nigeria.