AYAE ceremony in October 2017. The annual event celebrates its 10th anniversary on 22 October/Photo: AfricanCourierMedia

Germany: African Youth Education Awards marks 10th anniversary

The African Youth Education (AYE) Awards holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 22 October 2022. The youth empowerment initiative, which promotes educational achievement in the African community in Germany, marks its 10th anniversary this year.

The scheme was initiated in 2011 to act against the observed low educational attainment level of young Africans, which is partly attributable to lack of motivation.

The AYE Awards highlights success stories by rewarding those who have excelled in their education and training to act as role models to their peers in the community.

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” is the slogan of the AYE Awards.

According to Desmond John Beddy, one of the initiators and director of the AYE Awards, the ultimate aim of the project is to raise the level of educational and professional achievements of youths of African origin.

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“We want to promote awareness among students of African origin of the importance and significance of education for their social and professional integration in Germany,” the IT specialist, who is also the proprietor of Topafric Radio, added. “In a nutshell, the project motivates African kids in Germany to study hard in school for high achievement in their education and training for a better tomorrow.”

Other initiators of the AYE Awards are Mr Iyare Allan Imasi, a private legal practitioner, Mrs Fofana Ba Hawa, a systems engineer, and Mr Assignon Akakpo, a corporate lawyer.

Eligible for the AYE Awards are young persons with an African background who have successfully completed a vocational trade as well as those who are first-year university students in Germany. For example, students who gain admission into higher institutions of learning are eligible for the awards.

Sola Jolaoso

More information about the Awards at http://ayeawards.de

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