Ghanaian Social Enterprise, Golden Baobab Wins International Prize

Accra, Ghana, November 18, 2015 - Deborah Ahenkorah, a co-founder of literary social enterprise,Golden Baobab, headquartered in Ghana, is one of two winners of the 2015 Grinnell Prize for Social Justice Innovators.

The Grinnell Prize is an international competition honoring individuals who have demonstrated leadership in their fields and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change. Started by Grinnell College, a top private liberal arts college based in Grinnell, USA, the prize selects two winners out of a wide applicant pool from across the world. It offers a cash award as well as partnership opportunities with the college.

Golden Baobab, the organization that Deborah heads, champions the development of African children’s literature. Its flagship program, the Golden Baobab Prizes, is a prestigious pan-African literary award that inspires the creation of stories and illustration for African children. It further nurtures the talents of African writers and illustrators through workshops and training opportunities.

Golden Baobab also advocates for the right of African children to see themselves represented in the books they read and media content they enjoy. The Grinnell Prize recognizes Golden Baobab’s innovation and social justice lens in encouraging the creation, production and distribution of high quality, culturally relevant children’s literature by Africans for Africans.

On receiving this award, Deborah Ahenkorah said: “We are incredibly honored that Grinnell College recognizes our achievements from over the past seven years. This important honor and support comes at a timely moment as we set up our publishing company, African Bureau For Children’s Stories. We are looking forward to the Grinnell Prize opening several business and partnership opportunities to allow us to expand and get more stories into the hands of children across and beyond Africa.”

President Kington of Grinnell College commented during the award ceremony saying, “When I created this program in 2010, my goal was to honor people who are modeling the Grinnellian ideal of learning in the service of social commitment. As the program has matured and thrived, I have come to see that it is also a powerful way to connect our students and community with exceptional social innovators.”

This is the 5th year the Grinnell Prize is being organized and the second time a Ghanaian has won the award. James Kofi Annan and his organization, Challenging Heights, won the Grinnell Prize in its inaugural year. The 2015 Grinnell Prize for Social Justice Innovators, is one of the many accolades that Golden Baobab has received over the years in recognition of their work in developing African children’s literature.

ABOUT THE GRINNELL PRIZE
The Grinnell Prize directly reflects Grinnell College's historic mission to educate men and women "who are prepared in life and work to use their knowledge and their abilities to serve the common good." Nominations are open to U.S. citizens as well as nationals of other countries.

The program hopes to attract nominations across a wide range of fields, including science, medicine, the environment, humanities, business, economics, education, law, public policy, social services, religion and ethics, as well as projects that cross these boundaries. Grinnell especially hopes to receive nominations of those who work in areas that may not be traditionally viewed as directly connected to social justice, such as the arts and business. No affiliation with Grinnell College is required.

For more information visit: https://www.grinnell.edu/grinnellprize

ABOUT GOLDEN BAOBAB and AFRICAN BUREAU FOR CHILDREN’S STORIES

Golden Baobab supports the African children's literary industry through our prestigious pan-African literary award, The Golden Baobab Prizes. We organize workshops and other initiatives to champion African writers and illustrators to create beautiful stories for children. We also advocate for the right of African children to see themselves represented in the books they read and media content they enjoy. We have a business arm, African Bureau for Children’s Stories, that is a publishing and multimedia social enterprise.

It specializes in stories that reflect African experiences and produces beautiful, high quality children and young adult fiction. Golden Baobab and African Bureau are Ghana-based pan-African social enterprises and our Advisory Board includes renowned authors Ama Ata Aidoo and Maya Ajmera. Golden Baobab and African Bureau are proudly supported by Grinnell College, Echoing Green and The African Library Project. For more information visit www.goldenbaobab.org and www.africanbureau.com

From left to right: Grinnell College President Raynard Kington, Golden Baobab's Deborah Ahenkorah and Maria Vertkin of Found in Translation, show their medals during the prize cere-mony at the Herrick Chapel, Grinnell, USA.

Deborah Ahenkorah captures her audience in her passionate speech during the Grinnell Prize ceremony