The Ancestral Roots Awards: Recognizing Young Adult Leaders is an annual ceremonial event which gives recognition to upcoming community rooted leaders of African ancestry. These young adult leaders have helped to shape and positively influence their respected communities.

Many strengths and assets are apparent within our communities and the Ancestral Roots Awards seeks to pay tribute to under-acknowledged, yet exceptional, young adult leaders of African ancestry to validate their achievements, and to drive continued growth within their community.

The Ancestral Roots Awards is part of the Institute’s mandate to creatively engage African Nova Scotian young adults to foster their development as positive change agents within their communities. Through this initiative, we send a call for nominations to African Nova Scotian communities across the province. The first augural event was held on June 9, 2018 in Halifax.

African Nova Scotian Communities Ancestral Roots Awards
African Nova Scotian Communities Ancestral Roots Awards 2018

African Nova Scotia youth between ages 19 to 30 are eligible for nomination in 1 of the 12 categories for the Ancestral Roots Awards. The categories are: Developing young leaders, Community Service, Science & Technology, Health, Education, Justice, Business/Entrepreneur, Performance Arts, Written/Visual Arts, Spirituality, Civic Engagement and Sports. Descriptions of each category will be available on the application form below in early 2019.

All nominees and award winners are personally invited to attend the ceremony. Travel stipends are available for all award winners residing outside of the host location as needed.

All African Nova Scotian communities from across the Province are encouraged to participate through submitting nominations and attending the ceremony. To nominate a member of your community, please visit our website in early February annually when we launch.

For more information about the Ancestral Roots Awards, or how to get involved, feel free to contact the Coordinator of Youth Initiatives and Projects, Chanae Parsons, at (902) 407-3200 ext. 205 or chanae.parsons@dbdli.ca

African Nova Scotian Communities Ancestral Roots Awards 2018

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