Kagame to receive Uganda’s ‘Life Achievement Award’

President Paul Kagame will, this month, receive an award in Kampala, Uganda for his outstanding contribution towards the empowerment of youth in Africa. The award will be presented to the President during the Young Achievers Awards (YAA), ceremony slated for December11, in Kampala. His Uganda counterpart, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to attend. “The President will be the recipient of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in recognition of his efforts in empowering young people and his inspiring leadership values on the African continent,” Awel Uwihanganye, the Secretary General of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) told The New Times in an interview last week. The award is given to an outstanding senior citizen who has greatly inspired the young generation to desire for change and a better life, work for it and appreciates the consequences for the processes involved. The 3rd edition of the annual YAA is expected to draw over 700 delegates, among them activists, philanthropists, and corporate organizations. “What is more humbling is that he accepted to honour our invitation, and this is a testimony that his leadership empowers the next generation of Rwandans and African leaders” Uwihanganye added. Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Frank Mugambage, described the Lifetime Achievement Award as a deserved endorsement. “The President has been inspiring the youth throughout his life and he inspired many of his contemporaries,” Mugambage said, adding that Kagame is an example of how a lot can be achieved through inspiration. Other categories to be recognized during the event include those that have made great sacrifice and service towards nation building. The YAA awards also reward innovation and excellence of young people grouped in five categories. These include; Business and Trade, Media and Society, Leadership and Governance, Art, Fashion and Culture, Music and Entertainment, and Sports, Others are; Young Achiever- I.C.T Solutions, Overall Young Achievers of the Year and the special Young Achiever’s Heroes/Heroine Award. The YAA is an initiative designed to create a platform for harnessing talent, show casing excellence and innovation among Ugandan citizens aged up to 35 years. gashegu.muramira@newtimes.co.rw