Alberta’s Meritor with African Roots Celebrated at 2022 AC Awards

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Alberta’s African community winners enjoy their prizes as much as they enjoy the opportunity to gather.

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Nominees, winners and supporters of the 2022 AC Awards celebrated Alberta’s African roots Saturday at the Four Points by Sheraton near Gateway Boulevard in Edmonton.

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The awards ceremony is in its 12th year and organizers are always looking for new groups to garner rave reviews, such as the recently created “Friends of Diversity” category, event planner Anna Ouedraogo told Postmedia. .

“We have a lot of friends who aren’t African but who are actually part of our community, so that category is open to them,” she said.

Diversity Magazine hosts annual celebration formerly known as the Afro-Canadian Heroes Awards, featuring nearly 50 public submissions of nominations across nine categories recognizing entrepreneurs, artists, community leaders, organizations and more Did.

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Among them was Temitope Oriola, professor of criminology and sociology at the University of Alberta, who won the ‘Professional of the Year’ category.

“It means a lot because it’s from the community, people who have probably seen my public engagement on issues they care about for a few years,” he told the Post Media.

Among other topics, Oriola’s work has focused on policing and the use of force, and has served as special counsel to the provincial government for the review of Alberta’s police law.

Academic research often requires intense research — even for scholars of society — and the fact that the award is given by the public makes it all the more special, he says. Told.

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“Personally, I tried to bridge the gap between the city and the gown so that I could be part of the community rather than just sitting in an ivory tower,” Oriola said.

“Women in Business” winner Andrea Bailey-Brown said connecting members of the community is a key role of the AC Awards.

Bailey-Brown said he owns multiple Jiffy Lube franchise stores and has set up an agency to help people buy franchises or convert their businesses into one.

After hearing other winners and having the opportunity to share their own stories, she said this kind of gathering allows community members to learn from each other’s achievements and set new goals.

“I think the biggest value is meeting other people in the community,” she said. “It’s also nice to know that the work you do has impact and inspires others.”

Despite winning different categories, Oriola was on the same page.

“The immigrant community is incredibly diverse,” he said. “Events like this are a really great way to bring everyone together.”

hissawi@postmedia.com

@hamdiissawi