GUBA Awards

The Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards is an annual awards ceremony based in Britain which recognises the "hugely significant" contribution that British-Ghanaians make to society. The awards were founded in 2009 by UK-based Ghanaian TV personality Dentaa, with the first awards ceremony taking place in London, England, in October 2010. GUBA CEO Dentaa had the idea to set up the awards as she felt that there was "nothing out there" that promoted and celebrated the hard work and successes of British Ghanaians.

The GUBA Awards is the first ceremony of its kind to specifically recognise Ghanaian achievement and the only awards to be endorsed by the Ghana High Commission in the UK. It is intended as a platform that "showcases and celebrates excellence and achievement within the British-Ghanaian community as well as the outstanding and valuable services provided to Ghanaians in the UK and Ghana". More recently, the organisers have sought to also involve the wider African communities as they attempt to gain international attention.

The GUBA Awards is a non-profit organisation which donates proceeds towards charitable schemes operating within the Ghanaian community, and provides an "engaging platform" for promoting greater cultural diversity in the UK as well as raising the profile of Ghana. In 2012 the GUBA Foundation was set up to tackle a broad spectrum of issues affecting Ghanaian and African communities.

GUBA has been acknowledged and endorsed for its role in recognising Ghanaian achievements in the UK, as well as promoting the national interest of Ghana and the African community, by dignitaries and organisations including The Ghana High Commission to the UK & Ireland, The British High Commission in Ghana, The Ghana Ministry of Tourism, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie, Lord Paul Boateng, Diane Abbott MP and FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The current GUBA patron is British actor Hugh Quarshie.

In July 2013, the GUBA Awards received an International Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Excellence Award, beating over 100 nominees from the UK corporate sector. The organisation won silver in the 'International' category of the awards for its work supporting and enriching British-Ghanaian communities. The accolade gives GUBA the opportunity to be recognised as a leader in corporate social responsibility and be officially honoured at the House of Commons with a CSR World Leader Plaque.

The GUBA Awards 2013 have been backed by Conservative MP Adam Afriyie, who has described them as an "inspired platform. . . to highlight the significant and valuable contribution British-Ghanaians make to the UK". The awards ceremony took place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, in central London, on 16 November 2013.

Organisation

Categories in the GUBA Awards are divided into sections that represent the Ghanaian Flag: Red (Business & Enterprise); Gold (Popular Culture); Green (Community) and Black Star (Recognition Awards).

Hundreds of recommendations for nominees are received each year. A vetting process is in place along with a clear criterion that each candidate has to satisfy prior to being accepted as a nominee. Only the activities of the candidates in the 12 months leading up to the awards are considered, so that everyone stands a fair chance.

A panel of judges who are prominent members of the Ghanaian community is responsible for compiling the final short-list of nominees. In both the 2010 and 2011 GUBA Awards there were three judges: Charles Thompson MBE (CEO of the Screen Nation Awards), singer Rhian Benson and solicitor Maame Biama Asante. For the 2012 awards there are four judges: Thompson, Mavis Amankwah (Managing Director of communications firm Rich Visions), Freddy Annan (CEO for BASE Management Group) and Sandra Teichman (a director in the London arm of US law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman).

For the GUBA Awards 2013, there are 11 award categories: Business of the Year; IIA Sustainability Award; Efie Ne Fie Award; Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Rising Star of the Year; Fashion Fusion Designer of the Year; Music Act of the Year; Ghanaian Association of the Year; Inspirational Personality of the Year; Unsung Hero of the Year; and Charity of The Year. The winners will be announced at a black-tie event in central London, to be held on November 16, 2013.

With the exception of the Recognition Awards category, the winners in each section are decided by public vote and announced at the awards ceremony.

GUBA Foundation

While the GUBA awards focus on highlighting and celebrating the achievements of Ghanaians based in the UK, the GUBA Foundation is a charitable offshoot that was set up to address the particular problems and issues faced by the Ghanaian and British-Ghanaian communities. These include poverty, disability issues, and health issues. The Foundation has the strict aims of providing awareness, support, and guidance to families, and to encourage strong community cohesion. It also aims to increase the accessibility of services by the local communities.

As of 2013, the Foundation’s main focus is autism. The condition affects one in every 100 people in the UK, which equates to over 100,000 people with the condition in the black or ethnic minority (BME) communities. Yet despite this figure, people from the BME community are typically diagnosed later than their white counterparts, and face “more of an uphill struggle” when seeking support. A social stigma attached to mental health issues within the black community, a lack of trust in the health care system, and cultural insensitivity within education can also result in parents of autistic children resisting seeking treatment, even when signs of the disorder are evident.

The GUBA Foundation’s aim is to see autism “not as a disability but as a different ability”. This is highlighted by the Foundation’s specific aims of connecting families living with autism within the community to each other and encouraging networks of support; providing support and guidance to parents and carers, and connecting them to services that can help; delivering culturally sensitive autism training and providing awareness to the Ghanaian and British-Ghanaian community; and highlighting the achievements, gifts and unknown talents of people with autism.

GUBA Awards winners 2010

• Best Business - Kumasi Market
• Best Entrepreneur/Innovator - Arnold Sarfo Kantanka: Me FiRi Ghana
• Best African Fusion Designer - Ohema Ohene
• Best Hair & Beauty - Josh Hair & Beauty
• Best Restaurant - The Gold Coast
• Best Shipping Company - Speedlink
• Best DJ - Teddy Abrokwa
• Best Radio Station - Rainbow Radio
• Best TV Programming - The World’s Strictest Parents
• Best Media Personality - Ama K. Abebrese
• Best Sports Personality - John Mensah
• Best Event - Ghana Party In The Park
• Best Musician - Sonnie Badu
• Best Association - GNA
• Best Rising Star Award - Belinda Owusu
• Best Student Ahiever - Karen Boadu
• Pioneer Award - Leticia Obeng
• Recognition Award - Black Stars
• Lifetime Achievement Award - Osibisa

GUBA Awards winners 2011

• Best Business – Tullow Oil
• Best Money Transfer – MoneyGram
• Best Shipping Company - Speedlink Travel and Freight
• Best Professional – Lady Gifty Tetteh
• Best Entrepreneur – Andy Ansah
• Best African Fusion - Yaa Ataa Couture Bags
• Best Radio Presenter – Owusu Frimpong
• Best Club DJ – Neptizzle
• Best Photographer – Ernest Simons
• Best Print Journalist – Joanna Abeyie
• Best African Sports Personality – Asamoah Gyan
• Best Charity Organisation - Ghana Education Project
• Best Association – Ghanaian Community in Bradford
• Rising Star Award – Fidel Frimpong
• Best Student Achiever – Vida Yiadom Boayke
• Special Achievement Award – Coz Ov Moni – First pidgin musical
• Special Achievement – James Barnor – 50-year photography career
• Special Achievement – Kwami Sefa Kayi - Popular running morning show in Ghana / 11 years
• Special Achievement – Samuel Awuni – Cocoa Farmer
• Lifetime Achievement – Lord Paul Boateng

GUBA Awards winners 2012

Red - Business & Enterprise

• Ghana High Commission Award for Best Corporate Business - Armajaro Trading
• Best Professional - John Blavo (Blavo & Co)
• Efie Ne Fie (Home is Home) - Gloria Buckman Yankson (Plan It Ghana)

Gold - Popular Culture

• Best African Fusion Designer - Anita Quansah London – Anita Quansah
• Best Creative Writer - Dorothy Koomson
• Best Online Media - My Joy online
• Best Emerging Music Act - Mista Silver

Green - Community

• Best Ghanaian Event -

All White Party - Ghana Party in the Park (Akwaaba Promotions)

• Best Charity Organisation - WAM (What About Me) Campaign
• Rising Stars Award - Philomena Kwao
• GUBA Humanitarian - James Annan (Challenging Height)
• GUBA Community Champion - Lorraine Wright

Black - Recognition Awards

• Best Student Achiever - Gillian Appau
• International Recognition Award - Patrick Quarcoo (Kenya based media mogul)
• Inspirational African Award - Dr Mike Adebuga (Globacom)
• Special Achievement Award - Sam Jonah (Executive Chairman, Jonah Capital)
• Special Achievement Award - Sam Ankrah (Investment Broker)
• Special Achievement Award - Roland Agambire (Entrepreneur and owner of RLG)
• Special Achievement Award - Dennis Tawiah (Event Promotion Pioneer, CEO of Akwaaba Promotions)
• Sporting Achievement - John Mensah
• Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award - (Shaun Campbell on behalf of) Arthur Wharton, the first professional black football player and the world 100 yard record holder.

External links

• GUBA Awards website