The Future Awards Africa, the foremost award celebrating youthful accomplishments, has announced its panel of jurors for the 17th edition.

Set to take place in October 2023, the panel of judges will play a pivotal role in meticulously selecting young leaders aged 18 to 31 who have demonstrated remarkable achievements across diverse sectors.

This year’s jury panel comprises a constellation of subject matter experts, industry leaders, social activists, creatives, actors, advocates and pioneers — who have made notable marks and achieved laudable milestones in their various fields. The distinguished panel includes eminent personalities such as human rights champion and advocate Aisha Yesufu, entertainment industry executive and legal practitioner Oyinkansola Fawehinmi, aka FOZA, award-winning documentary photographer and entrepreneur Aisha Augie, LGBTQ advocate Olumide F. Makanjuola, Mark Okoye, Latasha Ngwube, and Adim Isiakpona.

The jury will be divided into two units — the Independent Audit Committee and the Jury — each entrusted with evaluating nominees based on three overarching criteria: Achievements, Hard work, and Talent. Notably, the TFAA empowers the panel of jurors with a crucial additional criterion — GUTS. This affords them the latitude to identify winners through a lens of objectivity, intuition and expertise.

“The Future Awards Africa has, over the past 16 years, unequivocally demonstrated its dedication to cultivating a new cadre of individuals united by their commitments and distinguished by their soaring accomplishments. We aim to showcase the world with resilient young people spearheading progress in their respective industries with resounding impacts. says Ayodeji Razaq, Group CEO, RED | For Africa.

“In light of this, we resolved to infuse our selection process with utmost equitability. First, we ensured that our jurors — comprising 10 exceptional young and talented professionals — were divided into two distinct groups in entrusted with a segmented selection process. Then we went further to prescribe the standard criteria the judges must adopt in ensuring results are characteristically fair.”

The Future Awards Africa has long been a beacon of excitement—an annual event eagerly anticipated not only as a ceremony but as an immersive journey. This year, an exciting addition awaits: The Future Awards Africa Docu-Series, taking centre stage and enhancing the resonant theme, “Defying Odds, Inspiring Greatness.” The excitement peaks with the premiere of the inaugural episode, scheduled to air during the awards ceremony, promising an unprecedented essence of greatness and inspiration.

Renowned for discovering, celebrating, and launching young leaders and culture-shapers who defy norms and set trends, The Future Awards has recognized and impacted over 2000 youth aged 18 to 31 across Africa since its inception. As this year’s nominations have closed, anticipation runs high among nominees for a positive outcome.

This year’s edition of The Future Awards Africa would be covered by our media partners – Africa Magic, Zikoko, Lagos Talks, Brand communicator, and YNaija.