The Central Working Committee for Africa’s biggest youth event, The Future Awards Africa has announced that official media partner, EbonyLife TV will be unveiling nominees for the 2015 awards in a special TV broadcast. The one-hour broadcast is scheduled for 3pm West African Time and will air across Africa, hosted by Zimbabwean actress, model and OAP Vimbai Mutinhiri.

EbonyLife TV airs on DSTV’s Channel 165.

Nominations were opened to the general public for individuals or teams between the ages of 18 and 31, who have delivered inspired impact and a track record of accomplishments within their community and/or globally in the last year. More importantly, these accomplishments must inspire youth and older people across Africa.

“We are excited to present this special on our 10th anniversary alongside EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first global black entertainment network,” said Ohimai Atafo, who is chair of the Central Working Committee. “The Class of 2015 is an inspired set from across Botswana, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania and Uganda. We can’t wait to unveil this set of Africa’s true leaders to the continent’s youth.”

There are 10 categories at this year’s awards, including a special prize presented by the Ford Foundation’s West Africa office for Youth Employment in Nigeria.

The award categories for 2015 are:

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Education

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Agriculture

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Advocacy

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Technology

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Public Service

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Community Action

The Tony O. Elumelu Prize in Business

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Entertainment

The Future Awards Africa Prize in Enterprise Support

The Future Awards Africa Prize for African Young Person of the Year

The Future Awards Africa 2015 – the 10th anniversary – will hold on Sunday, 6 December, 2015. It is powered by RED and held in partnership with the Ford Foundation, Microsoft, the US Consulate, the Canadian High Commission Nigeria and The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Broadcast partners are Africa Magic, Channels TV and EbonyLife TV.

More information about the awards can be found on awards.yafri.ca or on Twitter/Instagram via @tfaafrica. The official hashtags are #TFAA10 and #AfricaNeedsYou.

About The Future Awards Africa

The Future Awards Africa has been called the ‘Nobel Prize for Young Africans’, and the ‘most important youth awards’ by Forbes. It is a set of prizes given annually to celebrate and accelerate innovation, creativity and enterprise amongst young Africans aged 18 – 31. It has produced over 150 winners and over 1550 nominees since its first edition in 2006.

It is presented in conjunction with The Future Project, which has a mandate to build empowered citizens across Africa, through (inclusive) enterprise and (active) citizenship. This focus on Human Capital Development is informed by our value proposition: Africa’s growth needs a generation of young people who are gainfully employed and able to demand and secure better leadership.

Our projects include Aiki.ng, an employability portal presented with Microsoft; the Nigeria Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders, #StartupsAfrica, Intern4Jobs, The m-Hub, The Future Enterprise Support Scheme and The Future Africa Awards & Summit, described as ‘The Nobel Prize for Young Africans’.

With a network of funders and partners including the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ford Foundation, the US Government, First Bank, MTN, The Canadian Embassy, HP, the Nigerian Government and the British Council, our work has spanned Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Malawi, Cameroon, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Kenya.

Founded by the Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams, TFP is supervised by a Global Board of Advisors drawn from Africa, Europe, North America and the Middle East, including the Senior Advisor at one of the world’s leading financial advisory and asset management firms, Lazard LTD, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Senior Economic Advisor with the Open Society Foundations, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili; co-founder of ONE, Jamie Drummond and the Chief of Cabinet with the Africa Development Bank, Anne Kabagambe.

About Red Communication

Red Communication is a PR & Communication firm under the parent company, RED. An innovative media group focused on Africa, RED’s vision is to excite and empower an evolving generation through the media’s limitless possibilities. Built across tools and platforms, its Communication Division holds Red Communication, Red marketing and Small & Medium, and YouthConnect; and its Content Division holds the Y! brands, including Y! TV, Y! Magazine, YNaija.com, Teen Y!, Y! 2015, the Y! Tech 100 and the Y! Annual Black Ball/Y! 100 Most Influential List. It also anchors a development firm, The Future Project Africa, which co-presents Africa’s leading youth platform, The Future Awards Africa, and other projects including the Nigeria Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders and The Future Enterprise Support Scheme.