African Diaspora Awards Commemorative Magazine Announcement: Collector’s Edition.

As we look forward to this year’s ADA, we can hardly believe how far we’ve come, as a Diaspora and as an organization. ADA 2022, as we commemorate our tenth-plus anniversary (started in 2020), promises to be a reunion of rejuvenated, emboldened and empowered African changemakers, futurists and world leaders. We can not wait to host you at FIAF/French Institute Alliance Francaise, 22 E 60th St New York, NY on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022.

It is with great pleasure that we announce to you that this year’s ADA will be commemorated with a collectible magazine chronicling the journey of the communities that built Applause Africa into the African Diaspora Awards into the Society of Africans in the Diaspora (SAiD). We are beyond thrilled for the fruitful shared journey we have traveled with all of you and we can’t wait to celebrate it through this commemorative [ artifact ] telling the story of us, and how we have transformed the African world and the African narrative through infinite grit, indomitable genius and robust collaborations .

Our commemorative magazine will be led by none other than multi-hyphenate cultural producer Olori Lolade Siyonbola, the last Editor in Chief of Applause Africa magazine. As an Architect of Liberated Futures, Siyonbola wields her gift of Liberationary storytelling in service of our collective vision of a Liberated Africa and an empowered African Diaspora. With her Masters in African Studies from Yale and her Gates scholarship to Cambridge University, she has deepened her passion for and understanding of the dynamics of creative African Liberation for the next generation.

You may have come across Siyonbola’s writing in past issues of Applause, engaged with her as Editor in Chief, been impacted by her story when she went viral for sleeping on a very famous Yale couch, experienced NOIR FEST, been moved by her interview with co-Founder of Alibaba and owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Joseph Tsai or more. In every instance she has been consistent about this one thing: our generation will Liberate Africa through our collective creative power and our integrated unity. It is for this purpose that we exist.

This is the story she is leading us to tell through the ADA commemorative magazine, the story of everyday Africans evolving into future shapers who transform the world through their collaborative spirit, indigenous pride and indisputable giftedness. She may be reaching out to some of you to share pieces of your journey with our community through the magazine and through our collaborative podcast series, Black Genius: the African Diaspora Awards.

The ADA magazine will be available at this year’s awards event and through partnership with several cultural institutions throughout the US and beyond. We invite you to be a part of this historic publication as a partner, advertiser, distributor and more. You can express your interest by reaching out to our [ Communications Director ], Sanyu Ntanda
by October 15th, 2022.

We appreciate you and can’t wait to see you in New York!