Some 25 Nigerians will receive honours at this year’s edition of the Young African Women Congress (YAWC) 2024.

The YAWC Network – organizers of the Congress – under its ‘Giants of Africa Awards’ initiative, identifies and honours 25 distinguished personalities from the host country of the annual global convocation of the congress which takes place every year.

The nominees are selected based on their works in various fields in their home countries geared towards making lasting positive impacts in the lives of citizens.

With this year’s edition being held in Abuja – the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, between October 27 and 31 – the recipients of these prestigious awards are going to be Nigerians embarking on various humanitarian projects in education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, among others, aimed at bettering the lives and living conditions of Nigerians, particularly the youth, women and children.

The Young African Women Congress (YAWC) Network is a fraternity of young women of African descent living in Africa and in the diaspora who seek to be empowered and be themselves, change-makers for leadership and development on the continent.

At the heart of its mandate is the mobilisation of women from the grassroots level for leadership and development through advocacy, training and projects.

This year’s edition is being held under the theme: “Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Innovation and Technology.

Awards

The awards are segmented into 10 sections, each containing a number of categories. They include Women Empowerment (5 categories); Tech and Innovation (2 categories); Politics and Governance (2 categories); Agricultural Development (2 categories); and Entrepreneurship and Business (3 categories).

Others are Human Development (3 categories); Community Development (2 categories); Outstanding Institutions (3 categories); Statesman/Woman of the Year (1 category); and Sports and Entertainment (3 categories).

Under the Women Empowerment awards segment are the Distinguished Mentor of the Year; Women’s Advocate of the Year; A He-for-She; Rising Star; and Lifetime Achievement categories.

The Tech Innovator of the Year and Social Impact Technologist awards are the categories under the Tech and Innovation segment; whereas the Transformative Leader of the Year and Conflict Resolution and Peace-building Leader awards make up the ⁠Politics and Governance segment.

For the Agricultural Development segment are the Agricultural Innovator of the Year and Agricultural Community Champion awards.

The Entrepreneurship and Business segment has the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year; Business Leader of the Year; and Social Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
The Human Development segment has three award categories namely Educational Innovator of the Year; Economic Empowerment; and Technology Impact.

The Community Development segment comprises the Community Mobilizer of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year awards; while the Outstanding Institutions segment also comprises the NGO of the Year; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leader, and Innovative Public Institution of the Year awards.

Winners in the Sports and Entertainment segment will receive the Sports Icon of the Year and Entertainment Trailblazer of the Year awards respectively.

The Statesman/Woman of the Year is the sole segment that has only one category, which is the Statesman/Woman of the Year award.

The criteria for the selection of awardees are based solely on the merits of one’s works and the degree of their impact on the lives of the Nigerian citizenry.

Awardees will be honoured with plaques and citations in the presence of over 1,500 participants from across Nigeria, the African continent and the diaspora with a good number of prominent men and women in attendance as special guests and speakers.