In the quest to inspire the next generation of change-makers who are passionate about impacting lives and changing the narrative, the Humanitarian Awards Global has announced its 2022 Honorary Awardees. The recipients will be honoured at an awards ceremony at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana on 27 August under the theme ‘Celebrating change-makers’. The prestigious award honours distinctive works of service and lifetime achievements.

This year’s list has a broad representation including diplomats, board chairs, CEOs, scholars, chancellors, professors and philanthropists who have influenced society positively. SAEON Managing Director Dr Mary-Jane Bopape is one of only two South African recipients among countries ranging from Ghana to the UK and the USA. The other South African is Mrs Creseldah Cassandra Ndlovu, an innovative social entrepreneur and humanitarian.

The project not only aims to advance the importance of the recipients’ contributions to society, but also provides a platform for them to tell their stories, share their impact as well as network with others in the field.

“I am excited to receive recognition all the way from Ghana for research conducted within SADC,” says Mary-Jane. “Science is usually hidden within our labs; recognitions such as this one will hopefully make science more fashionable on the continent as we strive to train more scientists to increase the critical mass that can develop African solutions for African problems.

“This award is made possible by the SADC cyber-infrastructure experts who deployed High Performance Computing Systems (HPC) systems, the meteorologists in the six countries (Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia), my local and other international collaborators as well as support from the Department of Science and Innovation and through the Climate Research for Development (CR4D) postdoctoral fellowship.”

SAEON eNews will publish a follow-up article after the awards ceremony on 27 August.