Black Carpet Awards: Shining a Spotlight on Invisible Talents and Celebrating Cultural Diversity

The fashion world is abuzz with the upcoming Black Carpet Awards, the awards gala launched by Italy’s Afro Fashion Association. The initiative aimed at celebrating diversity and inclusion, will debut during the upcoming Milan Fashion Week on February 24, 2023. The event will celebrate the talents of underrepresented individuals, who have made significant contributions to the fields of fashion, design, art, food, music, technology, business, sports, and cinema. As we look forward to this historic event, we at RED-EYE feel a strong sense of community and an unwavering commitment to support these important values.

Founded by the visionary Michelle F. Ngonmo, Afro Fashion Association has been at the forefront of promoting cultural diversity since its inception in 2015. The association has identified cultural differences as a key factor in the enrichment of society and has been working tirelessly to showcase talents from diverse backgrounds, starting from those hailing from the African continent. We cannot overemphasize the importance of Afro Fashion Association’s mission, which is to consolidate the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental elements of individual and social growth.

The year 2022 marked an important milestone for Afro Fashion Association. The association formed a team of experts from various fields, who, among several initiatives, conceptualized the Black Carpet Awards. The inaugural event aims to have a global impact, as we believe that it is only by coming together and networking that we can effect change. While the event will be held in Milan, Italy, on February 24, 2023, this is just the beginning, and we look forward to attend and celebrate future editions of the awards worldwide.

Michelle Francine Ngonmo, Founder of Afro Fashion Association and Black Carpet Awards

At RED-EYE, we strongly believe in supporting the Black Carpet Awards and its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a result, we will celebrate this historic event with a special installation in our metazine and "Co-Creation" a curated exhibition of BIPoC Digital Artists by our editor, Tafari Hinds, aka Metafari. This initiative is our way of highlighting the importance of diversity in our society and giving voice to underrepresented talents. We are honored to be part of this event and look forward to a bright future of collaboration and support for these essential values.

The Black Carpet Awards will celebrate the achievements of unheard and underrepresented voices in various sectors. Ten leaders of change in the fields of culture, creativity, community, heritage, and entrepreneurship will be awarded for their significant contributions to generating new cultural and entrepreneurial paradigms and creating positive change in Italian society. A jury of international experts from various sectors will select five of the ten winners, while the remaining five will be chosen through online public voting.

We cannot overstate the importance of celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion. We hope that the Black Carpet Awards will serve as an inspiration for society to recognize the value of cultural differences and work towards a more inclusive and equitable future. At RED-EYE, we are proud to support these values and celebrate the achievements of underrepresented talents.

The Black Carpet Awards is a groundbreaking moment in Italian history, as it turns the spotlight on the diverse talent who have remained “The Unseen Profiles” until now. To highlight the importance of the occasion, there will be a video tribute to Virgil Abloh, a major supporter of the Afro Fashion Association and Wami, who has made significant contributions to the fashion world, illuminating the BIPoC community (Black, indigenous, and people of color).

The Black Carpet Awards is a celebration of changemakers who are building a more diverse and inclusive future and we are so ready to support and see this change happen.

The Afro Fashion Association, founded by Michelle F. Ngonmo in 2015, values cultural differences as a key factor for societal and cultural enrichment. The association has been working to highlight talents from the most diverse cultural origins, starting from the African continent. For this opening edition, the focus will be on Italy, where ten Italian-based leaders will be celebrated for their significant contribution towards generating new cultural and business paradigms and creating positive changes in Italian society.

Michelle F. Ngonmo remarked, "Celebrating all stories...This is what we are going to do through the Black Carpet Awards. Most of the time, we feel more comfortable to discuss our... with people that (whom we) share our same (similar) background or our same opinion while different perspectives are valuable, diversity or inclusion aren’t the same thing, and it is not a question of political correctness. The Black Carpet Awards as some may think, is not only about the Black Community, it is about the color Black which is said to be 'the sum of all colors' when a blackish stain is obtained from the mixture of various pigments in other terms, we, all together sitting at the same table and joining forces to discuss about the beauty of the diversity and how it is a crucial factor to the cultural and economical growth of the society."

The Black Carpet Awards will take place on February 24, 2023, at 8:00 pm at the Meet | Digital Culture Center, viale Vittorio Veneto 2, 20124 Milano. Join us in celebrating diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry!

All information here https://blackcarpetawards.com/

RED•EYE WORLD