Award of Excellence

Motivation for Award

The SOBA-NRW Community Award for Excellence is meant to recognize, appreciate and honour the women and men of our community who through their extraordinary hard work are helping to instil a positive image and change the negative perceptions of our African continent and people.

It is our little way to say thank you to those individuals and organisations who impact our lives in a very positive and outstanding way. As such we look upon such deserving individuals as role models for ours and future generations.

SOBA-NRW fervently believes that the African community will benefit greatly if we're respected and looked upon positively by other communities within and beyond the German society.

We at SOBA-NRW affirm to stand and fight with others against the proliferation of negative stereotypes and perceptions about our beautiful continent and people.

General Selection Criteria

Nominations should be forwarded to the Awards Committee no later than June 01, every year. Nominations can be submitted by any Cameroonian.
The Nomination Package should include the following:

1. Letter from the individual, group or organization nominating a candidate for consideration.
2. Detailed letter (at least one page long) explaining why the Individual should be considered for the prestigious award.
3. If possible, a detailed curriculum vitae of the individual. All nominations should be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line bearing the title "Nomination: SOBA-NRW Community Award for Excellence".

Awards are not issued posthumously· All nominations will be fully evaluated by the Awards Committee. The selection process is very confidential and deliberations are not to be made public. Recipients must be personally present to receive their awards.
In addition to the recognition the award brings, recipients also receive a Diploma issued by SOBA-NRW and an Oscar-like Figure.
The Award carries a cash prize of €250 (Two hundred and fifty Euros).
The recipient of the "SOBA-NRW Community Award of Excellence" will deliver "The SOBA-NRW Lecture" during the SOBA-NRW Convention; usually after the Award presentation.

Administration of the Award

1. No more than two (2) individuals or entities can be selected for the award in a single year.
2. If no suitable candidates are identified for the award in a particular year, the award will not be issued that year.
3. Nominations must include a detailed description of the nominee's accomplishments, vision, leadership, and commitment, as well as relevant examples of achievements that fulfil the award's criteria.
4. Award winners will be announced on the SOBA-NRW.org website and in the print and online news publications of SOBA-NRW e.V. A news release will be issued. Question and answer interviews with the Award recipient are encouraged for print publication and on the website.

Nominations are valid for only one year, but may be re-submitted each year up to a maximum of three consecutive years.

Successful nominees are notified of their awards by the Office of the President.

Presentation of the Award takes place during each SOBA-NRW Annual Convention.

The previous winners of this Award can be found here.