Throughout Africa, there is amazing progress by civil society focused on ending extreme poverty and preventable disease. These new ideas and exciting approaches are designed and implemented by Africans who understand the complexities of bringing about change and transforming lives in their communities.

The ONE Africa Award celebrates these innovations and progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the world's blueprint to a better future, ranging from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.

We're now proud to launch the call for applications and nominations for the 2012 ONE Africa Award.

The 2012 ONE AFRICA Award will award best practice by an African organization or individual addressing social development issues through innovative advocacy in promotion of MDG attainment.

Nominated individuals/organizations will be graded in 5 categories and will be awarded between 1-10 points in each of these categories:

1. Extent to which the individual/organization has designed and implemented an innovative advocacy program that employs new approaches to impact in a given sector(s).

2. Ability to demonstrate and communicate specific indicators of progress and impact linking work to a given sector(s) in a clear results framework;

3. Demonstration of the ability to replicate efforts of the individual/organization to take intervention to scale;

4. Demonstration of strong accountability mechanisms i.e. community leadership consultations/involvement in programs, transparency of operations.

5. Extent to which the individual/organization has employed creative partnerships to achieve its goal and ensure coordination with other development actors. These partnerships may include public and/or private sector players.

The eligible organizations must be founded by Africans and be based in Africa. Evidence of success in previous projects as well as funding support for previous project activities must also be included.

ONE will informally review the award winner's project activities and progress a year following the receipt of the award.

Source and More Information:

AWARD is a professional development program that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. AWARD is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development.

AWARD offers two-year fellowships that include a series of career development resources to;

AWARD holds training courses in various locations in Africa during the two-year program and covers fellows’ travel costs to attend.

Eligibility:
Women agricultural scientists who are nationals of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, or Zambia, who have completed a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, particularly in the disciplines listed below, are eligible to apply. There is no age restriction.

The Red Umbrella Fund aims to strengthen and ensure the sustainability of the sex worker rights movement by catalysing new funding specifically for sex worker-led organisations and national, regional and global networks.

The Fund will provide opportunities and grants for sex worker-led organisations to strengthen their capacities, such as organisational development and management, programme development and implementation, resource mobilisation, advocacy and communication skills, and monitoring and evaluation.

The Red Umbrella Fund will provide grants to support four types of activities to sex worker-led organizations and initiatives (including to organizations that are registered or not registered in their country:

1. Start up funds for informal groups to become legal entities;

2. Multi-year, core funding ;

3.Funds to support peer-led capacity building and exchanges;
4.Emergency grants with capacity for immediate response.

The Red Umbrella Fund will also provide opportunities and grants for sex worker-led organizations to strengthen the capacity of grantee organizations stressing peer-to-peer mentoring in such areas as (but not limited to):

The Red Umbrella Fund has the specific mission to catalyse and raise new funding for sex-worker-led organisations and networks. The first-year grantmaking budget of the RUF is $700,000. The Red Umbrella Fund will provide start-up funding, multi-year and core funding, support for peer-led capacity-building and exchanges, and emergency grants to sex worker led organisations.  Grant amounts will be between $5,000 and $50,000.