The Future Awards Pre -Conference

The organisers of The Future Awards have formally announced the Keynote Speaker for this year’s edition which holds on Sunday, January 30, 2011. This is the sixth edition.

The keynote address is a yearly tradition that has seen some of the nation’s most respected role models from across the world address the brightest and best Nigerian young leaders directly in an intellectually charged environment – one of the unique attributes that have made the awards stand out in stature and impact. 2008’s Keynote Speaker was former Minister for Education and Vice President of the World Bank, Obiageli Ezekwesili and 2010’s Keynote Speaker was Managing Director of the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Indeed Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s turn at the podium last year is memorable for injecting into the media and youth culture the revelation that the youth constitute 70 per cent of the population. That information and the charge from her speech for young people to take charge of the change process has been credited as the launching pad for initiatives like Nigeria’s largest coalition of youth groups working for free and fair elections, Enough is Enough Nigeria and other initiatives for good governance.

This year’s Keynote Speaker is expected to walk in that fine tradition. Olusegun Aganga, former Managing Director with Goldman Sachs is Nigeria’s Minister of Finance as well as Chairman of the 2010 Board of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (BWI).

The Future Awards (TFA) 2011 this year holds at the Landmark Events Centre in Lagos. Winners will be unveiled in categories from Best Use of Science and Best Use of Technology to On-Air Personality of the Year and Creative Artist of the Year.

TFA continues to blaze a trail as Africa’s biggest youth awards and Nigeria’s most influential youth event, partnering over the years with the World Bank, the British Council, the Federal Ministries of Information, Education and Youth, amongst others, and reaching up to 10 states of the country as well as Ghana, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

This year’s edition is supported by Access Bank, HiTV and the Miccom Golf Resorts. Official media partners are Y! (www.ynaija.com), Cool FM and Wazobia FM. More information is on www.thefuturenigeia.com.