Cedella Marley Upbeat About Receiving AFUWI Honor
Cedella Marley is beaming bout her impending American Foundation for The University of the West Indies’ (AFUWI) Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Global Leadership, which will be presented to her on Sunday, February 21 at the organization’s Annual Awards Gala.
“I believe that higher education provides a pathway for progress & prosperity, which is why I’m honored to be receiving the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Global Leadership at @afuwi’s Scholarship Fundraising Gala,” she posted on Instagram on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old who is the firstborn of Bob Marley and his wife Rita, is an accomplished singer, author, fashion designer and philanthropist.
Now CEO of Tuff Gong International, Cedella was a member of The Melody Makers, the Marley sibling group featuring her younger brothers Ziggy and Stephen and sister Sharon, for two decades. The Melody Makers, which toured the world and sold millions of albums, and acquired various honors and accolades, including three Grammy Awards.
The UWI award is her second major honor in less than five months. Last October on National Heroes Day, she was bestowed with the honor of the Order of Distinction in the Class of Commander by the Government of Jamaica for ‘Philanthropy through exceptional contribution to Sports Development and the National Women’s Football Programme’.
Sunday night’s Gala will feature an entertainment package with Cedella’s son Skip Marley, singer Mikey Spice, Gena Roots band and RSNY – a US-based group with Jamaican heritage.
She joins a list of eight awardees including Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who will receive “The Legacy Award” and US-based actress Amanda Seales, who will also receive “The Caribbean Luminary Award”.
The event, which is the foundation’s premier annual fundraiser, will be hosted virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. It provides scholarships for students of the five campuses of The University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, Antigua and the Open Campus.
According to Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, the awardees celebrate Caribbean heritage and their individual contributions in varied sectors including politics and nation-building, music, acting, media, entrepreneurship, business, academia and education.
“Each year the AFUWI has the privilege of saying thank you on behalf of the people in the Caribbean and the Diaspora, to a select group of distinguished persons of Caribbean descent or heritage who are blazing a trail of excellence in the United States of America,” he said in a recent release.
“We acknowledge and honour them as eminent standard bearers for a region that has contributed much to the development of the USA in a range of spheres,” he added.
The American Foundation for The University of The West Indies (AFUWI) was established to contribute to transformational leadership and economic and social advancement of CARICOM nations.
The foundation seeks to transform the lives of young Caribbean nationals who are in dire financial circumstances, by providing access to higher education so they can break the cycle of generational poverty and make an economic impact in their local communities and throughout the region.