The Future Africa Leaders’ Award (FALA) is an initiative aimed at exploring and expanding the leadership potentials in Africa, for Africa. Every year, through the Future Africa Leaders Awards, the Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International selects deserving young people from across Africa who have demonstrated leadership in meeting challenging needs of their communities and nations, for special recognition and cash grants to further their projects.
Since inception in 2013, the Future Africa Leaders Award (FALA) has recognized 81 recipients from several African countries, including Cameroon, South Africa, Nigeria, Southern Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, Egypt, Tanzania, Botswana, Uganda, Ghana and more.
Each Future Africa Leaders Awards is preceded by a widely- viewed Nomination Show; a live telecast during which the list of top 30 to 32 nominees across Africa are unveiled for that year’s Future Africa Leaders Award.
At the Globally televised awards ceremony on the night of December 31st each year, the Foundation recognizes winners with a cash grant of 10,000 USD each. In addition to this, the FALA star prize winner is awarded a cash grant of 25,000 USD to further expand their sustainable projects.
The annual event attracts prominent leaders, top government officials from across Africa, and representatives of both federal and state parastatals in Nigeria, the host country. The occasion is witnessed by a physical audience of over 25,000 people and is beamed live on over 500 terrestrial and cable television stations across every country of the world.
At the 2018 FALA event, the eminent global states-man and former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR), gave a speech on ‘Building Tomorrow’s Africa’, to the global audience and announced the winner of the star Prize, Isaiah Deng from South Sudan.
We also had the first female democratically elected woman president of Liberia and Nobel peace prize winner Madame President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, honor our prestigious 2019 FALA event, with Rev- (Dr.) Chris Oyakhilome DSC., DD. During the course of the event, she inspired every young person present to become change agents in the areas of youth development, civic engagements, political transformation that leads to nation building. She was also given the privilege platform to announce to the world the 2019 star prize-winner Babiene Heline Eweni from Cameroon. It was indeed an all-inspiring moments.
The recipients of the FALA are further supported by training programs and featured in a special television program, Project Africa to give further exposure to their projects. Currently, there are a total of 122 applicants from 47 African countries registered for this year’s amazing Future Africa Leaders Awards. The Future Africa Leaders Foundation has carefully identified nominees who have demonstrated exemplary leadership traits and invested in others through their various programs and projects.