2021 Activism Awards Profiles
2021 Nominee Profiles Activist of the Year Selma Bichbich Climate Youth Activist Read more Kemo Fatty Conservationist and CIVIC’s Head...
Read more2021 Nominee Profiles Activist of the Year Selma Bichbich Climate Youth Activist Read more Kemo Fatty Conservationist and CIVIC’s Head...
Read moreIn 2019, Africans Rising started the Africans Rising Activist of the Year award to recognize African grassroots activists working for justice, peace and dignity for African people. The award initiative has received such popular support that it has continued to expand. In 2020, the Africans Rising Activism Awards recognized both individual and collective activism, and now, in its third year, the Activism Awards will also be a platform for showcasing the creative talents of African artists.
The Africans Rising Activism Awards serve the purpose of profiling and advancing African activists and movements and highlighting their engagement of activism as a means of positive change in African communities. Through the example of award nominees and recipients, this award initiative showcases activism as a worthy cause in African society and aims to inspire similar actions among other civil society actors on the continent and in the diaspora.
The Africans Rising Activism Awards initiative supports and connects activists and movements in a global network of Africans engaging in non-violent actions to promote justice, peace, and dignity for all Africans everywhere.
In the first edition of this Africans Rising award initiative, Jean-Marie Kalonji, an activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo was voted the 2019 Africans Rising Activist of the Year.
In 2020, out of a collective of 20 nominees in two categories, Asha Jaffar Harun, an activist and journalist in Kenya, was voted the Activist of the Year, and Tournons La Page, an international pro-democracy movement, was voted Movement of the Year.
The awards were presented at the West Africa Good Governance Summit in Benin.
Nomination for the awards is done by members of the general public through the Africans Rising website ( www.africansrising.org ). After nomination, nominees will be vetted by an appointed panel of judges and a select few candidates will be shortlisted as final nominees. For each category (Activist of the Year, Movement of the Year and Artistic Activist of the Year), two final nominees will be chosen to represent North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, and the diaspora, for a total of 36 nominees.
Final nominees will be notified by email or WhatsApp. Final nominees will be asked to submit a photo, biography and video (optional) to showcase their work. This content will be placed on the Africans Rising website so that our members can learn more about the nominees and their activism as they decide who to vote for as their top choice during a final voting round.
After final nominees are announced, there will be a final 10-day voting period in which members of the public will be able to vote online for the candidates they think should receive an Africans Rising Activism Award. Voting will be done virtually through the Africans Rising website (www.africansrising.org) and each voter can cast one vote for their top choice in each category.
The winners will be determined by the number of votes they receive. The nominee with the highest number of votes being the first-place winner and will receive the annual title (2021 Activist of the Year, 2021 Movement of the Year or 2021 Artistic Activist of the Year). The nominees receiving the second and third highest number of votes will be named first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively, for their category. All top three scorers for each category will be invited to attend a virtual awards ceremony.
Vote results will be revealed and award recipients will be announced during a virtual awards ceremony. The three nominees who receive the highest vote totals for each category will be invited to the Activism Awards virtual awards ceremony. This will be an opportunity for them to receive their award and showcase their activism and/or through the global Africans Rising platform. First Place Winners, First Runners-Up, and Second Runners-Up will be announced during the ceremony.
You can now cast your vote for the African changemakers you believe should be awarded as Activist of the Year, Movement of the Year and Artistic Activist of the Year.
Vote Now!ACTIVIST OF THE YEAR
The Africans Rising Activist of the Year award is an annual award to recognize an individual (activist) for their social justice work to bring positive change to the lives of Africans on the continent and/or in the diaspora.
To qualify as a nominee for the Africans Rising Activist of the Year Award. A nominee must meet the following criteria:
MOVEMENT OF THE YEAR
The Africans Rising Movement of the Year award is an annual award to recognize a movement, collective or organization for their social justice work to bring positive change to the lives of Africans on the continent and/or in the diaspora.
To qualify as a nominee for the Africans Rising Movement of the Year Award. A nominee must meet the following criteria:
ARTISTIC ACTIVIST OF THE YEAR
This Africans Rising Artistic Activist of the Year award is a new award that recognizes artists on the continent and/or in the diaspora who use their art to promote positive social change to the lives of Africans.
To qualify as a nominee for the Africans Artistic Activist of the Year Award. A nominee must meet the following criteria:
The winners of the 2021 Africans Rising Activist of the Year Award will be presented with the following awards:
The winners of the 2021 Africans Rising Movement of the Year Award will be presented with:
The winners of the 2021 Africans Rising Artistic Activist of the Year Award will be presented with:
Africans Rising is a Pan-African movement of people and organisations, working for justice, peace and dignity.