Influential Africans changing the narrative on Africa

3 Jul 2018

The most influential people of African descent within the continent and from the diaspora, that are changing the conversation on Africa globally to that of an 'Africa Rising', have been named in Los Angeles as part of the BET Awards weekend.

Influential Africans changing the narrative on Africa

The executive team and selection committee of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), has unveiled the third category - Media and Culture - of the MIPAD global 100 for Class of 2018.

The announcement was made last week in Los Angeles, on the sidelines of the BET Awards Weekend. The award recognises excellence in people of African descent from over 50 countries worldwide in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) 2015 - 2024.

The Most Influential People of African Descent present...#MIPAD100 #Classof2017 #Meetyourcounterpart #AfricanDescent #BlackExcellence pic.twitter.com/eIg1Z5hBHE
— Most Influential 100 (@MIPAD100) September 27, 2017

And, on par with the first pillar of the decade, Recognition, MIPAD set out to recognise 200 high achievers: 100 based in Africa, and 100 from the diaspora, across four categories annually, until 2024:

Politics & Governance
Business & Entrepreneurship
Media & Culture
Humanitarian & Religious

Selected based on their social media following, achievements and awards, notable personalities who made the list are well known African names, such as:

Eloine Barry, CEO, African Media Agency (Senegal)
Actress Omotola J. Ekeinde (Nigeria)
Super model Mariah Idrissi (Morocco)
Designer Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton (Ghana)
Soccer stars of African descent featuring in the ongoing World Cup 2018 in Russia.

Achievements

Those in the Diaspora with ancestry links to Africa also featured, such as NFL super star Colin Kaepernick (USA); rap sensations Emicida (Brazil); Kendrick Lamar (USA); the cast and directors of Black Panther; and Jerry Tuwai, the Fiji National Team Captain notable for leading his team to win the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.

"With their trailblazing achievements in film, music, performing arts, fashion, sports and journalism, our Media and Culture honorees are impacting popular culture, changing the narratives about Africa and its diaspora and showcasing there is excellence in black worldwide," said Kamil Olufowobi, founder of MIPAD.

"MIPAD is creating a platform for the unification of all people of African descent worldwide. And, through this platform, we are fostering global collaborations between high-achieving individuals in the politics, business, media and humanitarian sectors for the glory of Africa and it diaspora. Our mission with MIPAD is to build a global network of civil society actors to join together and support the implementation of the IDPAD as proclaimed by the UNGA Resolution 68/237," Olufowobi concluded.

An honour

African Media Agency (AMA) CEO Eloine Barry has been named in the top 100 MIPAD under Media and Culture category. It’s an accolade that reaffirms her relentless effort to transform the African media landscape and shape positive African narrative on the global stage.

Barry and her team from AMA have been at the fore front of shaping the Africa narrative. AMA which is founded on the core principal of availing opportunities to journalists and helping tell the positive stories of Africa, has had a dramatic impact on the continent. AMA has played an important part in changing the perception of the continent by promoting a home-grown narrative.

AMA provides press release distributions, media and public relations to the most important NGOs, International Organisations, companies and communications agencies in the world. Since its inception in 2014, AMA has run over 900 campaigns, reaching thousands of African reporters and generated tens of thousands of coverage pieces for their clients.

Mandela’s 100th birthday

The 4th and final category, of the Most Influential Global 100 Class of 2018 featuring honorees who have made great strides in humanitarian field, will be released on July 18 2018, as part of the 100th year anniversary of the birth of great leader and visionary Nelson Mandela.

The previous categories announced are:

The Recognition Week in honor of the MIPAD Class of 2018 is slated for September 28 - Oct 3, 2018, in New York City, following the opening of the 73rd UN General Assembly.

The full list for the 3rd category (Media & Culture) of the MIPAD global 100 Class of 2018 can be accessed via this link.