The Future Africa Awards & Summit Extends Nominations Deadline | Expands Central Working Committee

The Central Working Committee for Africa’s biggest youth event, The Future Africa Awards & Summit (TFAAS) has announced an extension of nominations – young, inspiring Africans can be nominated until Saturday 21st June 2014.

Nominations can be done via the website www.thefutureafrica.com/awards or via SMS on +234 802 2222 6712. Nominees must be aged 18 – 31.

This year’s categories are:

The TFAA Prize in Education
The TFAA Prize in Agriculture
The TFAA Prize in Advocacy
The TFAA Prize in Technology
The TFAA Prize in Public Service
The TFAA Prize in Community Action
The Tony O. Elumelu Prize in Business
The TFAA Prize in Entertainment
The TFAA Prize in Enterprise Support
The TFAA Prize for African Young Person of the Year

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The Future Africa Awards & Summit

TFAAS has also been expanded to The Future Africa Awards & Summit, a 2-day ideas-fest, where the continent’s most influential leaders and institutions with portfolios on youth will gather to chart immediate action-points for expansion of jobs and opportunities, as well as good governance and citizen engagement.

The Central Working Committee for The Future Africa Awards & Summit (TFAAS) 2014 has announced the formal expansion of its brain trust across the world – with the announcement of its expanded jury consisting of the Board of Judges and Independent Audit Committee, as well as its Global Board of Advisors.

According to a member of the committee and a Fellow with President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative – “As TFAAS has expanded in scope and become both a global brand and to reach countries across Africa, we are excited to present the distinguished leaders from across the world who will serve on the Independent Audit Committee and the Board of Judges, and the Global Board of Advisors for The Future Project“.

Independent Audit Committee
This consists of leaders from across government, civil society and business from across Africa.

Members include Katja Schiller Nwator (Leadership Development and CSR Manager, The Tony Elumelu Foundation), Mahamadou Sy (Founder and Executive Director of the Institut Supérieur de Développement Local (ISDL), Senegal), Wendy Luhabe (Author, accomplished public speaker and thought leader), Abiola Alabi (MD, MNet Africa), Tonye Cole (Executive Director, Sahara Group), Ndidi Nwuneli (Founder LEAP Africa), Mo Abudu (CEO, Ebony Life TV), Gbenga Sesan (Founder, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria), Eikem Nutifafa (Founding Partner, Oxford and Beaumont, Ghana), Chi-Chi Okonjo (Publisher, Ventures Africa), Victoria Trabosh (Founder, Ithafari Foundation), Taa Wongbe (Managing Partner, The Khana Group), Ayo Ajayi (MD, PATH Global) and Jennah Scott (Director, Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat, Office of the President).

Board of Judges
The Committee also announced the Board of Judges, a peer review committee formed of African media leaders below 40.

Headed by Forbes’ Mfonobong Nsehe, the judges include Belinda Otas (Assistant Editor, New African Woman), Brenda Wendo (Deputy Features Editor, The Star Newspaper, Kenya), Billie Adwoa McTernan (Ghana correspondent, The Africa Report), Adam Bouhadma (Editor, 9rayti.com, Morocco) and Michelle Atagana (Managing Editor, Memeburn).

Speaking on TFAAS, Belinda Otas said – “Africa is at a stage where its young population is needed in order to secure the continent’s future”. “I am excited about this generation of young Africans, for their hunger, their pursuit of purpose and their passion to see a better Africa. This is what The Future Africa Awards is about and I am honoured to be a part of it.”

Global Board of Advisors
This is made up of some of the world’s most influential leaders from Europe, North America, and Africa.

They include Bruno Kone (Minister of Post, Information and Communications Technologies, Cote d’Ivoire), Mteto Nyati (Managing Director, Microsoft South Africa), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Nigeria), Dr. Frannie Léautier (Partner and Chief Executive Office, Mkoba Private Equity), Salem Mekuria (Professor, Wellesley College), Barbara Lethem Ibrahim (Founding Director, the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, American University, Cairo), Mutiu Sunmonu (Country Chair and Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited), Jamie Drummond (Co-founder, ONE), Federico Sarica (Editorial Director, Rivista Studio Italy), John Momoh (Chairman, Channels Television, Nigeria) Prof. Pat Utomi Utomi (Director, Center for Values in Leadership), Obiageli Ezekwesili (Senior Economic Advisor, Open Society Foundation), and Anne Kabagambe (Director of Cabinet and Chief of Staff, Africa Development Bank).

“I am delighted to join the board of advisors for this important project,” said Frannie Leautier, who is also a former Vice-President with the World Bank. “I have been very pleased by the impressive achievements of the platform.”

Nominations end on Saturday 12th June 2014 via the website thefutureafrica.com/awards/the-future-awards-africa-2014-nomination-form/or via SMS on +234 802 2222 6712.

The Future Africa Awards & Summit 2014 is supported by Microsoft, the US Consulate and the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Official Media Partners are EbonyLife TV, AfricaMagic, Ventures Africa, Bloomberg TV Africa and Y! Africa.

Official Online Partners are MemeBurn, BellaNaija, NigeriaNewsDesk, GidiTraffic, 360Nobs and Premium Times. The official bloggers for 2014 are LindaIkeji, Omojuwa, LadunLiadi, Olorisupergal, Gidi Traffic and Ameyaw. Cool FM is the host radio station. Channels Television is the host TV station.

For more information, visit @TFAAfrica on Twitter | Find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheFutureAwards | Follow the official hashtags for 2014 – #ThisIsAfrica and #TFAAS2014.
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Bellanaija is a Media Partner with The Future Africa Awards & Summit 2014