Judges for the Heroes of Change competition
It is left with barely a week for MTN to tell Ghanaians the 10 finalists shortlisted to compete in this year’s edition of the annual MTN ‘Heroes of Change’ project, and the four judges tasked to bring out the 10 names have a huge task of selecting the finalists from a total list of 2,396 nominations submitted across the country.
The shortlisting is being done by a highly respected jury made up of Albert Ocran, international motivational speaker, author and minister of the gospel; Sidney Casely Hayford, a chartered accountant as well as business and financial analyst; Alhaji Ibrahim Awal, founder and chief executive of Marble Communications Group, publishers of the Finder newspaper and Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, a communications professional and former board chair of the Graphic Communications Group Limited. She is currently a member of the National Media Commission.
The ‘Heroes of Change’ project is an MTN initiative which seeks to reward persons engaged in extraordinary charity activities in the country and there is a cash amount of GH¢100,000 for the ultimate winner to use for a charity project.
There is also an amount of GH¢20,000 for each winner of three other categories and an amount of GH¢5,000 for all six finalists.
A team from the MTN Foundation would be sent to the community of the nominee to verify the veracity of the supposed charity project after which all nominees would be shortlisted to a final list of 10.
There are six categories up for competition and each nominee must have a proven record of working either on charity bases as a community crusader, or in the areas of social protection, health, environment economic empowerment and education which forms the six categories.
It defines the category of community crusader as an individual or group that has generated a proven indigenous solution to a persistent local or national or social issue with results.
To be eligible to contest in the social protection category, a nominee must be an individual or group that has advanced the cause of the vulnerable and marginalised in our society.
Under the health category, the nominee must be an individual or group that has dedicated services to awareness creation and advocacy for eradication of any identifiable health issue or has helped to provide health facility for a community.
For environment, the person must be an individual or group that has devoted significant time and effort to creating environmental awareness and improving the general environmental condition of Ghanaians.
For the economic empowerment category, nominees must be an individual or group that has engaged in projects aimed at building the capacity of members of a community in order for them to become self- sufficient and to enhance their livelihoods.
And for the education category, nominees must be an individual or group that has engaged in educational projects aimed at improving literacy in our communities and acted as an agent of social change.