On Saturday 14th May 2022 I attended the 8th Annual Women4Africa Awards. Our founder, Donia Narh, was nominated for the Women in Education Award and had invited me alongside a group of other young ladies in the DFL media team. It was an amazing and empowering experience, getting to see all these incredible African women receive their accolades and praise/recognition.
Taking pictures
We started off the night by taking pictures. There were two main highlights; the 360 booth and the red carpet. With the booth we had to stand on a podium whilst a phone circled around us in 360 degrees, after that they added in effects including slow motion and reverse.
Whilst the red carpet gave us the opportunity to be photographed by a professional photographer, I felt like a celebrity at an award show. Everyone was dressed up in their best outfits, there was glitter, sparkle and extravagance everywhere, there was even a best dressed award at the end of the ceremony. There was even a special guest appearance by Nollywood Star Yvonne Jegede
Winning award for education:
The highlight of the night was Donia Narh winning the Women in Education Award. She invited me as well as the other girls who attended to join the stage with her in accepting the award. It was amazing to see Donia receive her recognition as her work with Aces Aspire has been incredibly impactful. We posed for a picture on stage and then were ushered off so Donia could be interviewed by the Women4Africa Media Team.
Meeting the sponsors and Harry from The Apprentice
Whilst in the interview room we had the chance to talk to the sponsors, called MetaVisionaries, for the night. I felt I had seen the Head of Innovation and Emerging Communities so when I was speaking to him I simply asked “Were you on The Apprentice?”. It turned out that the Head of Innovation and Emerging Communities was Harry Mahmood, a previous contestant on The Apprentice. We spoke and took pictures, he also gave Zurielle some inspiring words for the future.
The food
We had name cards for where we were supposed to sit. Throughout the night the workers brought over the food. There was a fish pate as a starter as well as unlimited bread. Then we were served a main dish which was a gourmet roast chicken and potatoes and the dessert was a toffee cake with strawberries and ice cream.
The environment
Finally I would like to cover the environment, throughout the night I was struck with themes of empowerment as we all cheered and celebrated one another.
