Saturday 23 February 2019
Some 400 people packed the Victoria Hall at the Marriott hotel on Kent Street last Saturday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Global Community Alliance annual Black History Month gala. The brainchild of Kelly and Yomi Pratt, this annual event brings to a close the Canadian national capital’s Black History Month celebrations. Over the past ten years, the gala had been one of the most sought after events in Ottawa’s social calendar, with an eclectic mix of members of federal, provincial and municipal governments, school board trustees, community leaders and advocates and other leaders and stakeholders in the city’s diverse and multicultural population. Prominent among those in attendance wer: Yasir Naqvi, former Ontario Attorney General; MPs Greg Fergus and Chandra Arya; MP’s John Fraser and Nathalie Des Rosiers, and Councillor Rick Chiarelli. The occasion is also an opportunity to acknowledge and honour those community leaders and trail-blazers for their various accomplishments. Black Ottawa Scene‘s editor and publisher Godwin Ifedi, was honoured with the Community Builder award.
The award winners for 2019 Global Community Alliance are listed below.
Professional Achievement Award: George Chin; Romain Muboyayi; Nneka Bowen
Business Achievement Award: Mr. & Mrs. Akohene-Mensah
Community Builder Award: Godwin Ifedi; Ingrid Ferguson; Councillor Stephen Blais; Ingrid John-Baptiste
Youth Achievement Award: Abdullah Ayoub; Alliyah Ishimwe; Ronikka Dhillon; Stephanie McKittrick; Angelique Doris Jeanty; Halgann Fevrier-President; Sana Musa; Alvy Catap; Adunni Garber; Uyanga Darkhanbaatar; Neema Behamba; Valeria rogas-Robles; Omerine Malanga; Samantha Lin; Mathias Mark-George.
All photos copyright Black Ottawa Scene