Kumasi, Nov. 06, GNA -‘Africans Rising’, a Pan-African movement, is to confer on deserving activists and movements various awards for engaging in non-violent actions to promote positive social change in their communities.
This is being done under the auspices of the Africans Rising Activism Awards, to honour awardees under the three main categories, namely, ‘Activist of the Year’, Movement of the Year’, and ‘Artistic Activist of the Year.
“The Activism Awards initiative gives more visibility to people who live and breathe for justice, peace and dignity for all African people.
It engages Africans in meaningful conversations. It is an opportunity to celebrate with each other. When we lift each other up, we all rise,” says Coumba Toure, Africans Rising Movement Coordinator.
A statement issued by the Pan-African movement, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi, said the annual awards initiative would be launched on November 8, this year.
It said virtual nominations for the awards would also be held from November 8 to 18 on the movement’s website (AfricansRising.org/ActivismAwards).
Started in 2019, the Africans Rising Activism Awards recognize, support and connect African grassroots activists and movements in a global network of Africans engaging in non-violent actions to promote positive social change in their communities.
In 2020, the Awards recognized both individual and collective activism, and now, in its third year, the ‘Artistic Activist of the Year’ category has been introduced to provide a platform for showcasing the creative talents of African artists in East, West and Central Africa.
According to the statement, both the ‘Activist of the Year’ and ‘Movement of the Year’ categories would be accepting nominations of African candidates from all regions of the continent and the diaspora.
It said after the public nominations period, a panel of judges would be tasked to select the final nominees for each category, and then a public round of virtual voting held from November 26 to December 6 on the Africans Rising’s website to determine the winners.
Previous winners include; ‘2020 Activist of the Year’, Asha Jaffar Harun, a human rights activist and journalist in Kenya, the ‘2020 Movement of the Year’, Tournons La Page, an international citizens’ movement that promotes democracy and human rights in Africa, and the ‘2019 Activist of the Year’, Jean-Marie Kalonji, an activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity is a Pan-African solidarity movement, engaging Africans and African descendants in all parts of the world in events, training and campaigns for positive change in their communities.
GNA