Vision: To mobilize diaspora Africans and foster a culture of giving back through leadership, mentorship, community service, and other donations. Mission: To build a sustainable, reliable community of African leaders in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond. Values: We identify, recognize, and reward African excellence. We acknowledge, develop, and promote African talent. We recruit, negotiate, and connect African professionals. We advocate for refugees and immigrants of African descent We care, foster, & support African Mental wellbeing About us: We are a team of dedicated volunteers serving purposefully to enrich our local communities. We organize regular African Influencers Forums featuring accomplished University of Toronto alumni & other established community members who are willing to share their career trajectories with our community. Priority is often given to diaspora Africans In 2017 we created The GOWN: African Scholars Awards whose aim is to recognize, appreciate, and reward African excellence by honouring members who positively impact our communities. These awards include the Influencers Award, the Emerging Scholars Award, the Social Innovation Award, the Distinguished Volunteer Award, the Global Impact Award, & the Community Development Award. In 2018 we launched the Refugee Awareness Week (RAW) initiative. The RAW is one of our central annual programming which offers an opportunity to Africans and Canadians to collaboratively discuss the global refugee issues. These conversations help to shade light on the contributions of former refugees to the Canadian economic, social, cultural, and political landscape. We educate, empower & elevate members of our Afro-communities through different workshops, webinars and other interactions. We promote equitable cultural exchanges through mentorship and roundtable discussions. We provide support for African new comer students to smoothly transition into the Canadian academic & social life.