Okwui Okpokwasili, a Nigerian choreographer and performer has been named a 2018 MacArthur Fellow.
Okwui Okpokwasili, 46, is one of the recipients of the “genius award” and is duly being recognised for “making visible the interior lives of women whose stories of resistance and resilience have been left out of dominant cultural narratives”.
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Five Nigerian choirs have been honoured at the 2018 World Choir Olympics with gold and silver laurels in different categories.
The five Nigerian choirs were: Lagos City Chorale, Mountain Top Chorale, New Wine Chorale, Musica Casa and Riverbank School Choir. Nigeria was also represented at the bi-annual meeting of World Choir Council by Sir Emeka Nwokedi.
The theme of the 2018 World Choir Olympics “Various Voices, One Harmony”, was envisioned to building bridges through choral music, with the African celebration concert emphasizing social cohesion and creation of new bonds of friendship.
The 10th World Choir Games held in Tshwane (Pretoria) South Africa from July 4 – 14, 2018 (first time in Africa since inception), consisted of over 300 choirs from sixty-two countries across the five continents of the world competed on same stages, co-habited in hotels and hostels, shared tables and same meals.
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Omei Bongos-Ikwue has risen above her speech impairment to win the 2018 Toastmasters International Speech Contest in Accra, Ghana.
Her winning speech, entitled, “Release it”, focused on the themes of bravery, passion and generosity, which she used a moving story to illustrate that “we only receive extraordinary things when we let go of the average, or ordinary ones.”
The speeches were judged on content, organization, gestures and style.
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Twenty entries have emerged winners in the final stage of GTBank’s #SimpleChangeBigImpact Challenge, during which members of the public voted on social media for social innovations with the best potential to uplift local communities.
The individuals behind each of the twenty entries will now receive up to ₦1 million in funding to execute their community development project.
Continue reading 20 Winners Emerge In GTBank’s #SimpleChangeBigImpact Challenge [2018]
Gamaliel & Susan Onosode Foundation (GAMSU) was named the 2018 African Child Foundation Laureate for Humanitarianism in Lagos, on June 15 2018.
The Award is in recognition of the activities of the Foundation in improving the standard of education in Nigeria, and contributing to the development of children in the society.
The Foundation was presented the prestigious African Child Prize Gold Medallion in commemoration of the achievement.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Foundation were the Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Mr. Spencer Onosode, and the Chief Operations Officer, Toyin Olanrewaju.
Mr. Onosode thanked the African Child Foundation for the Award, and expressed gratitude to the Board of Trustees of GAMSU for upholding Gamaliel Onosode’s legacy, and steering the Foundation towards tangible development of the Nigerian education system. He also expressed his appreciation to the Onosode Family for their consistent support, and reiterated the Foundation’s commitment to the collective development of children in Nigeria, and Africa as a whole.
Michael Ugochukwu Stephen also known as Ruggedman has been honoured with the African Integrity Prize for Integrity in Art courtesy of the African Child Foundation.
The Creative Youth Initiative Against Corruption (CYIAC) has emerged the winner of the Innovative Category of the first United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Action Awards.
Ms. Foluke Michael, the Project Director of CYIAC in a statement said the Innovative Category top award was presented to the group in Bonn, Germany by Mr. Markus Hipp, the Director, BMW Foundation
She said the campaign that led to the awards demonstrated the extraordinary momentum towards achieving the SDGs in different parts of the world.
At the event, the Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, Mitchell Toomey disclosed that the Awards ceremony was held in tandem with the second edition of the Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development in Bonn.
Toomey added that the awards ceremony honored initiatives in the categories of communicator, connector, includer, innovator, mobiliser, storyteller, and visualizer.
In the words of Mitchell Toomey:
“These are ‘Action’ Awards because we need more than words: our winners dared to believe and act for change.
They are perfect examples of the wonderful work that’s happening around the world led by thousands, if not millions, of people.”
The Awards span over private and public sectors, as well as civil society and grassroots movements.
The winning initiatives (CYIAC) included fighting corruption in Nigeria and mobilising Belgians to implement the SDGs in their daily lives. Others were empowering children through photography and digital skills in Bangladesh, promoting human rights education in Sri Lanka and much more.
Over 700 nominations from 125 countries in 7 continents were submitted.
An expert judging panel evaluated the submissions against the degree to which actions were deemed to be transformative, inclusive and impactful.
In addition, an open vote was held on the website of the UN SDG Action Campaign, where visitors could rate their favourite among the 38 finalists to win the People’s Choice Award.
Mitchell Toomey noted that:
“Great solutions for the world’s challenges can come from anywhere.
We hope everyone is inspired by these stories and consider submitting their nominations for future Awards.
These are the first winners of a community that will continue to grow”.
Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Senior Economic Adviser and Public Policy Analyst, Africa Economic Policy Development Initiative (AEDPI) and Former Vice President for Africa for the World Bank has been awarded a Golden Medal of the Crans Montana Forum.
Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili was a co-founder of Transparency International, serving as one of the pioneer directors of the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany. She also served as the Vice-President of the World Bank’s Africa division from May 2007 to May 2012.
Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili was a 2018 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in transparency in the extractive sector.
The Golden Medal of the Crans Montana Forum was also received by Sun Xiansheng, Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum.
Continue reading Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili Receives Crans Montana Forum Gold Medal Award [2018]