The “The Future...” Awards is ONLY for people between ages 18 and 31 however it is very different from any other award, which is a point we have made over and over again. For one, it is not a complete winner-takes-all event because to us the finalists are as important as the final winner; in fact those on the long-list are as much a critical part of the process as the the finalists since they all inspire other young people with their stories.
Apart from all of that, there is also the fact that none of the 15 awards is sacrosanct: because every year we first observe trends and developments in the country, and then pinpoint the areas where young people have excelled and THEN we decide the categories for that year! So ... this year, some categories have taken a backseat, others have remained, and some wear new names! Try and guess which is which...

Actor of the Year
We could argue forever about what ‘talented acting’ is, so we won’t! But we are interested in that actor (or actress) who is popular and has acted in a good number of movies. Now, it doesn't mean the person must have acted in a plethora of ‘bad’ movies, it just means he/or she must have acted in enough movies for us to judge the talent, and enough for that person to have achieved fame and acclaim. It will help if he/she has also gotten other credible awards for their craft. It will also help if that person has also spent up to two years in the film industry. Alternatively, we also know that even though stage acting doesn't quite occupy pride of place any longer, there are still a lot of young people on stage (major stage productions) – and they are doing very well. They can apply, but of course, they have to go that extra mile to convince us!

Musician of the Year
Simple! This award goes to that person whose music is extremely popular, not just amongst 18-31 year olds, but everybody! It need not be famous internationally (though that won't hurt), but Nigeria MUST feel its impact. The musician should also have won other credible awards, and must have performed in major concerts. He must also be relevant at the moment.

Screen Producer of the Year
This belongs to the young person who works behind the scenes and is very good at the job i.e. producers, editors, cameraman, that have worked with award-winning or very famous artistes/shows/TV programmes/Commercials etc and who has made success of the people (s)he has worked it. He/she must also have made a name for his/herself, and earned respect amongst his/her peers. We must also be able to see instances of jobs this person is DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for, and those jobs must either be of an obviously high quality or must be highly popular.

Music Producer of the Year
After two editions of being heckled and almost stampeded into creating a separate category for music producers, this year we agree that it merits a separate category, and so this is the same as above, but for those in music.

On-Air Personality of the Year
This award is for the TV or radio presenter/host who is really popular for his work. Their shows need not be of the highest quality, given the challenges of our environment, but must be of basic standard quality. The idea however is that the personality of the person shines through, and he is popular/loved for that fact, thereby becoming a role model for talent, hard work and positivity. Experience as a presenter/host outside of the studio will also help.

Best Use of Goodwill
Whilst we intensely admire those who have been able to do well in spite of their disadvantaged backgrounds, we also appreciate those young people who have been able to use fame, acclaim, success, popularity, achievement, love etc to achieve something great either for themselves or for their society. Children of accomplished and/or famous Nigerians who have used their parents’ name wisely and effectively for positive ends are those we seek – so this award is for young people from a famous and/or wealthy parents/families but who have been able not only to work hard via an active engagement with the Nigerian environment, but who have also taken advantage of their family’s goodwill to make a positive impact on society.

Best Use of Technology
We want the one person who has done a lot of quality work in the area of Technology, preferably Information Technology. This must be major work, and he/she should have had some recognition for that work. The award is also for a technology entrepreneur or one who has advanced innovation in the area: essentially, this award is for that person most symbolic of the stride young Nigerians have made in the IT industry.

 Artist of the Year
This if for young people in the core arts (apart from writing); which would be sculptors, painters, photographers and the others in the generis. Its for those young people in these areas with a large and respected portfolio; participation in major exhibitions, seminars et al is a major advantage.

Entrepreneur of the Year
This award if for that young person that has been able to set up a viable business, is getting patronage and is transparently seen to be succeeding with it i.e. someone with a thriving, successful business, a sizeable number of employees, and who has made visible impact in the sector/field of business. The business/idea must be at least one year old.

Entrepreneur of the Year (Beauty & Style)
This is the same as Number 7, but is exclusively for the myriad of young people excelling in the fashion and style industry: clothes, make up, hair, designing etc. They are certainly such a large number as to deserve a separate enterpreneurship category.

Professional of the Year
This is simply for the young person doing extremely well in the corporate world. That person must have a major job/assignment in a flourishing organization, or must have reached enviable heights/position. On the other hand, it is also an award for the professional (i.e. professional university/curriculum courses e.g. Doctor, Pilot, Engineer, Accountant) who has achieved considerable success or who has broken ceilings, blazed a trail... that kind of thing (Certain concerned people have rightly raised issues with the name ‘Professional’ for this category. We wish therefore to restate that the fact of this category being called ‘Professional’ does not seek to undermine the professional nature of other categories. Whilst we agree with the principle of their objections, we have to emphasis that the overriding interest guiding such decisions is to make sure that people can connect with the words, and therefore it is simply a mattes of nomenclature. To reach a suitable compromise for the purposes of communication, we have decided on and remain convinced about using ‘Professional’ in the conventional academic sense)

Best Use of Advocacy
This is for a not-for-profit organisation, run by a young person for young people, that has been most effective in achieving its goals – it could be an NGO, a club etc. We would prefer organisations that are national in their spread, even though the award is not limited to this i.e. it could be community based. The award could also be - and we would prefer if it were! - for the young individual very actively involved in advocacy i.e. HIV/AIDS, Employment, the Niger Delta etc. But that organisation/person must be able to show the things it has achieved. It must be able also to prove how it funds itself.

Magazine of the Year
This award is for magazines that are run/managed by young people, target young people and are immensely popular amongst certain groups of young people - the magazine must circulate fairly widely. The magazine should be well produced i.e. well planned, well laid out – pictures need not be fantastic, but should be discernible. The content of the magazine is our focus – it must be of a quality comparable, at the least, with magazines for the general public. The English must be competent, and it must be rich and relevant to the issues of our time; it must also be balanced – this does not exclude religious or otherwise specific magazines, but presupposes that whatever is nominated should be well rounded.

Journalist of the Year
This award is for writers between the set ages who have written in and for reputed and reputable magazines/newspapers in Nigeria and perhaps abroad. It is for the print journalist whose writing can be compared with the best of the world - his ideas and articles/stories/interviews he has written/done must also be very creative and essentially original in thought and approach. He must also be an extremely hard worker, and this must be evident in the nomination. It would also help if he has gotten at least one credible award for his efforts.

Young Person of the Year
This award is the BIGGEST of the 15 awards, and is for that Nigerian between 18 and 31 who has blazed a trail and achieved mind blowing success in WHATEVER field, and who has become an ultimate role model of talent hard work for millions of young people. This person must also be a Nigerian with visible leadership skills and who projects positive values that young people primarily and then the whole of Nigeria can connect with. Young people must aspire to be like this person.
It’s about symbolism – the Young Person of the Year must be a young person that has achieved a height that is mind-blowing or gotten to a position that is simply... waoh! That person would be a success is every sense of the word. Of course, there must be integrity and hard work. It is very likely that this person will emerge from one of the other categories.