Organisation gets an international nomination
Local youth empowerment organisation, Imagine Scholar, was named a top 100 finalist for the 7th Annual Classy Awards, which will be hosted in Boston, USA, in June.
KAMHLUSHWA – The Collaborative is a unique three-day experience that brings together top social innovators from around the world. Each day offers a series of speakers, breakout and interactive sessions, and networking opportunities that culminate in the Classy Awards ceremony. As one of the 100 finalists from across the world, Imagine Scholar will be attending the event.
Classy, the world’s leading online fundraising platform for social enterprises, has hosted this event and award ceremony for years in San Diego and has recently expanded the footprint into Boston’s Innovation District for the last two years. This year’s event will take place June 13-15, 2017.
Imagine Scholar offers an alternative approach to combating systemic developmental challenges in rural South Africa. The rigorous academic program is coupled with a humanizing organizational culture that builds character and accountability, and places an emphasis on personal development. Imagine Scholar fosters purpose-driven young leaders and empowers students to become the next generation of advocates for positive change in their communities, South Africa, and beyond.
READ: Imagine Scholar paves the way to success
Imagine Scholar was one of several hundred programs nominated to this year’s Classy Awards and then went on to complete a comprehensive program application. Finalists were selected based on scale and scope of the problem, an innovative approach, their ability to solve the problem and organizational effectiveness.
From here, 10 winners from the 100 finalists will be chosen by the Leadership Council and announced on stage at the awards ceremony in June. “The Classy Awards has become one of the top forums for recognizing global social innovation,” said Pat Walsh, co-founder and chief impact officer of Classy. “Classy Awards Finalists are pioneering innovative ideas and technologies addressing some of our greatest social problems, and we’re honored to play a role in recognizing their incredible accomplishments.”
Caitlin Graaf, manager of marketing and communications, will be representing Imagine Scholar at the Classy Awards in June.
“As a small, dedicated team and a relatively young program, it is so exciting that our work is beginning to be recognized on the international scale.”
I think we’ve all known we have something special here – a program that goes a little deeper and pushes the boundaries of traditional education and development reform further than many.
“For us, the proof is in the fact that our alumni graduate as poised, confident, and thoughtful young leaders. I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this accomplishment with a group of some of the world’s leading social innovators in the world this June,” Graaf said.
