Awards Category

This award is designed to celebrate, honour, and profile successful African Australian Women.
The category focuses on private, public, and not-for-profit organisations and businesses with agendas that are inclusive, collaborative, compassionate, and courageous women who serve as role models and mentors in their fields of expertise or at the grassroots and community levels.

Selection Criteria:

• Must demonstrate an intangible quality that uplifts their community and engages in various leadership or civic activities in their school, church, or community.
• A woman who exhibits leadership and excellence in her field of expertise and has made outstanding contributions to advancing the industry.
• A woman who has demonstrated leadership through business and/or innovation.
• A woman who is a positive role model and mentor and has made outstanding contributions to supporting the industry and the people who work in it.

The Award honours African Australians who, through their volunteer efforts, have significantly enhanced the WA African communities with their commitment, leadership, and service to others.

Selection Criteria: 

• Passionate about fostering community harmony and well-being with strong evidence of community engagement within the WA African Community, such as Community involvement and service — active participation and responsibility in volunteer and collaborative efforts that address the community’s needs through local organisations, groups, networks, and projects.
• Provide evidence of the positive impact on the lives of individuals and families in the WA African Communities.
• Community involvement and service — active participation and responsibility in volunteer and collaborative efforts that address the community’s needs through local organisations, groups, networks, and projects.
• A strategic plan or steps implemented to secure the sustainability of the initiatives created within the community groups and/or association.

This category recognises African Australians who have turned their innovative skills, strength, courage, ideas and resilience into original projects or businesses that address the African community’s problems and share knowledge about African culture with a broader audience to break boundaries.

Selection Criteria:

• Demonstrate leadership that uplifts the WA African Communities, showing resilience, growth, and commitment to providing employment, skills, and problem-solving.
• An originator or a key contributor to the development/creation of an innovative idea, project, or business which can be new or established (minimum 12 months for an innovation).
• Able to demonstrate or show evidence of achievement in their area of innovation that resolves, or aims to resolve, an issue affecting the African community.

This category recognises an individual, charity, community group or company that has worked to make a positive difference in the local, state, national, or global community to promote the common good of the African community in WA

Selection Criteria:

• This individual, charity, community group or company should have worked toward enhancing the well-being of African communities.
• This is the only award that recognises “unsung heroes” that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to delivering initiatives that transform and empower marginalised communities.

The category strives to identify and recognise individuals well-regarded by the African Communities across Australia, executive management of the OACWA, and the larger community for promoting the interests of the African Communities in Australia. No nomination is available for this award.

Selection Criteria: 

• An African Australian or Australian
• Extensive involvement with WA Community groups, OACWA, and African-related organisations (minimum five years)
• Demonstrates national, state, or regional leadership about African Australians’ agendas.

Community Pillar Award – WA African of the Year

The Community Pillar, “WA African of the Year,” is the highest Award for a legendary individual’s achievements and commitment span many years. No nomination is available for this award.

Selection Criteria:

• An African Australian only.
• An African Australian has contributed significantly to African communities in WA and Australia over ten years or more (policy, practice, service, academia, etc.)

This award category recognises outstanding sports, media, and entertainment individuals with dedication and commitment. The Award recognises those individuals who have displayed success, talent, and excellence in their field of choice. This includes:

• Entertainers who are musicians, performers, choreographers, and poets; and
• All forms of sport, including athletics, coaches and team members who have displayed athletic ability and a strong sense of character.

Selection Criteria:

• The nominee is an African-Australian individual sports player, media producer, entertainer, or part of a sporting/media/entertainment team that has excelled in a chosen sport/media.
• The nominee must be a positive role model to the young African Australian.

This category recognises students who have demonstrated excellence in academics and leadership through volunteering, achieving, and maintaining a required grade point average (or the equivalent Proficiency Level for elementary students) during 2023. Students eligible to be appointed to this category are African-Australian undergraduate students from all five
universities in Western Australia who are due to graduate in 2023/2024 and would have completed the degree requirement by September 2023. This will be awarded to a student nominated by their primary study institution.

Selection criteria:

• Top Academic performance by a student of African origin
• The student who has demonstrated initiative, perseverance, and the ability to overcome significant obstacles in attaining his/her degree/master’s.
• The student who has provided outstanding leadership activities and has been a spokesperson and role model for multicultural students, including students of African origin.
• The student who has contributed to campus and/or community service initiatives and has made an important contribution as a volunteer in any service organisation.