This year’s Africa Young Hero Award goes to Megane Lorraine Ceday Boho of Cote d’Ivoire for earning the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts – The Princess Diana Award. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Award was established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
Passionate about putting gender equality at the heart of economic development, Meganne started providing free coaching to people applying for fellowships. With her association SEPHIS, she set up “The SEPHIS National Tour for Women Empowerment”.
In the last two years, they have raised more than $30,000 and trained more than 1,800 young women. She is dedicated to providing young women with the opportunities to further their career, for example, she gave free French classes to English speaking participants at a fellowship gathering 100 young people from West Africa. Through her position of Account Manager at African Media Agency (AMA), she has been able to work on big events like the Africa CEO Forum, The Next Einstein Forum, and Africa 2018 Forum.
Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, said: “We congratulate all our new International Diana Award Holders who are changemakers for their generation. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. For over twenty years, The Diana Award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make a positive change in their communities and lives of others.”
Commenting on Meganne’s award, Sefora Kodjo Kouassi, President of SEPHIS added “I am very proud of Meganne who constantly impresses us with her positive impact on the Association. This distinction is a testimony that Meganne is a truly inspiring model for her generation”.
“This Award is the recognition of Meganne’s dedicated work to women’s empowerment. We hope she will continue to inspire many young women in Africa to create a better future for generations to come”, commented Eloïne Barry, CEO of Africa Media Agency.
Award Holders have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognized their efforts as a positive contribution to society. Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee’s impact in five key areas: Vision, Social Impact, Inspiring Others, Youth Leadership, and Service Journey.
There are 13 Diana Award Judging Panels representing each UK region or nation and a further two panels representing countries outside of the UK. Each panel consists of four judges; Two Diana Award Holders, an education or youth work professional, and a business or government representative.
The panels have an important main purpose: to determine which nominations from each UK region/nation will receive The Diana Award. Nominations are judged using the Criteria Guide and Scoring Guide which have been created to measure the quality of youth social action
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.