The Top 100 of 2018 search for South Africa’s young leaders has come to an end.
Our panel of judges has worked tirelessly to sift through a number of candidates to select the top 100 African youth leaders of 2018.
For the next couple of weeks, we will be profiling the judges as we get closer to unveiling the winners.
One of the esteemed judges is Vivian Onano, a social entrepreneur and seasoned humanitarian who is recognized as an emerging woman leader with the courage to lead change on the African continent.
She has a strong commitment to education, women economic empowerment, and leadership. Vivian has a deep interest in re-defining Africa’s growth and development, and creating an inclusive world where women and youth can play an important role.
She is a graduate of Carthage College and a strategic development consultant on education, youth empowerment and employment, and women economic empowerment.
New African Woman Magazine featured her in 2016 as one of the “30 under 30, Faces Changing Africa Now” and Forbes Woman Africa profiled her as “One to Watch”.
In 2015 she was honoured with Mrs Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” award by MORE Magazine for her advocacy work around girls’ education.
Vivian is a recipient of the 2017 New African Woman on the Rise Award and 2016 MTV “Africa Re-Imagined” Award.
She is a respected speaker who often speaks on global education, gender equality, youth empowerment, and international development. She has presented at the United Nations General Assembly, World Innovation Summit for Education, The Global Education and Skills Forum, and the Clinton Global Initiative, among others.
Vivian is a global Youth Ambassador at Water Aid, Women Deliver Young Leader and a Youth Advisor to the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group.
She also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Global Youth Empowerment Fund Board of Trustees and Women Deliver board member.
She described leadership as a service to others.
“Leadership is about service, it is about empowering others to be better people in the society and have equal opportunity to thrive. Leadership is about the people you are serving as a leader,” she said.
To upcoming youth leaders, she said, “Be yourself, be curious, be open to listen and learn from others, leadership is about impact and making a difference in others’ lives. It’s a lonely and tedious path but totally worth it and very rewarding,” she said.
