By Nigist Abera , Ottawa
When the first Bikila Award ceremony was held in Toronto on September 27, 2014, the mood was unmistakably hopeful. More than 300 people attended. Eight individuals were recognized, including Dr. Taffara Deguefé, Abel Tesfaye — The Weeknd — and young academic and community honourees. The organization’s own recap described the night through comments such as “wonderful project and dinner event,” “absolutely beautiful,” and “beyond our expectations.” It was a celebration of Ethiopian achievement, community pride and the memory of one of Ethiopia’s greatest sons, Abebe Bikila.
That beginning matters today because the Bikila Award is no longer a new community experiment. It has become an institution. Over the years, in Meskerem, its stage has recognized an extraordinary range of people: the Pankhurst family; Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke; Professor Getatchew Haile; Dr. Catherine Hamlin; artists, scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs, volunteers, students and community organizations. In my rough count, so far, about 115 individuals and organizations has been recognized. The 2026 recipients have now been announced, with the next ceremony scheduled for September 26 in Toronto.
That history deserves respect. It also makes the questions now being asked about the award more important.
The Standards the Award Sets for Itself
Bikila Award says that it was established to foster academic, professional and business excellence, promote volunteerism and recognize “exemplary Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia”. Most importantly, its mission says that the organization was created mainly to empower young people to reach their highest potential and celebrate their achievements. Its nomination page repeatedly speaks of honourees as role models. Its professional criteria include integrity, good moral character, positive impact, courage, distinction in one’s field and qualities “worth emulating by the youth.”
Those are serious standards. They should be applied seriously and explained publicly when a selection generates legitimate community concern.
What Does “Youth Impact” Really Mean?
This year, much of that concern centres on the selection of an online influencer, Mr. Adonay Berhane Hailemichael for the 2026 Youth Impact Award. The Bikila Award press release says he is being recognized for his contributions to Ethiopia’s digital-media social landscape and for the influence he has created among young people in Ethiopia and across the diaspora. Adonay is a highly visible social-media personality with a substantial following. That, by itself, should not disqualify anyone from recognition. Digital creators can educate, inspire, organize, entertain and contribute meaningfully to society.
The real question is different: what does the Bikila Award mean by “Youth Impact,” and how does this particular selection satisfy the values the organization itself has published?
That question should not be answered through insults, personal attacks or moral panic. It should be answered through evidence and transparency. Some members of the Ethiopian community have concerns about aspects of Adonay’s past online content and whether they are consistent with the kind of role-model standard the Bikila Award says it seeks to promote. If the organization believes his overall record, growth, charitable activities, creative influence or other achievements outweigh those concerns, it should simply explain that case.
A prestigious award should be able to tell the public not only who won, but why.
The concern is not merely theoretical. Adonay’s public profile has already been at the centre of controversy. Among many, he is known for his “Dedeb” and “Seget” public affairs where he advocates clearly for laziness and intellectual mediocrity. In December 2025, Ethiopian police detained him following the Ethiopia Creative Awards, where he had been named TikToker of the Year, as part of a wider crackdown on social-media personalities accused by authorities of violating cultural norms and standards of public morality. Adonay, who was reportedly wearing an open-necked shirt at the event, was among several creators detained, and the episode triggered a broader public debate in Ethiopia over culture, freedom of expression and the responsibilities of influencers with enormous youth audiences. His detention, of course, should not itself be treated as proof of wrongdoing or as a reason to deny him recognition. But when an award expressly speaks of integrity, good moral character and qualities “worth emulating by the youth,” such a highly publicized controversy makes an explanation of the selection more, not less, necessary. The question is not whether Adonay has ever been controversial; many influential people have been. The question is whether the jury considered his whole public record, including the controversies as well as his claimed personal growth and positive contributions, and why it concluded that he represents the kind of youth impact the Bikila Award wishes to celebrate.
The Weight of Abebe Bikila’s Name
This is especially important because the award carries the name of Abebe Bikila.
Abebe Bikila was not merely a successful athlete. His barefoot victory in the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon, achieved in world-record time, made him an enduring international symbol of Ethiopian excellence, discipline and perseverance. He returned four years later in Tokyo and won the Olympic marathon again. Bikila Award itself presents his determination in the face of adversity as an example for younger generations and says the organization was established in part to preserve that legacy.
That is a powerful standard to inherit. An organization using his name should therefore welcome scrutiny about what qualities it chooses to elevate.
Popularity Is Not the Same as Contribution
The issue is not that every recipient must be a saint, scholar or world-famous professional. In fact, the award is at its best when it discovers people whose work deserves wider recognition. The inaugural class itself mixed established figures with younger achievers. Alongside Dr. Taffara Deguefé and The Weeknd were students Alpha Abebe and Martha Ghebreselassie and community-service honouree Heran Genene.
That balance made sense: honour great accomplishment, but also encourage the next generation.
It raises another important question. Are we doing enough to identify Ethiopians whose work is exceptional but whose names are not already famous?
There are Ethiopian and Ethiopian-Canadian physicians, researchers, engineers, academics, artists, entrepreneurs and community builders whose work rarely enters social-media conversation. Some have spent decades building institutions, treating patients, publishing research, mentoring youth or serving communities without accumulating millions of views or followers.
A serious nomination system should actively seek out such people. Popularity can be evidence of influence, but it should never become a substitute for contribution.
The Bikila Award’s own history shows why this matters. Its past recipients include internationally recognized figures such as Mulatu Astatke and Catherine Hamlin, but also scholars, volunteers and students who were not household names. In 2014, the organization honoured academic excellence alongside professional excellence and community service. In 2015, more than 350 people gathered in Toronto to celebrate twelve recipients. Over time, the award expanded across fields and generations. That diversity is a strength worth preserving.
Who Selects the Winners?
The most important reform, however, is transparency in selection.
The Bikila Award website actually provides more information about its process than many people may realize. Nominations generally run from November 1 to January 15. Nominees are expected to provide evidence of their achievements and supporting references. The Award Standing Committee reviews the submissions, after which the documents are provided to an appointed Award Jury. According to the organization, that jury selects honourees by majority vote under guidelines provided by the Board of Directors and the Nomination Committee.
But the process does not end with the jury.
The jury’s decisions are forwarded to the Board of Directors for approval, and the website expressly says that the Board has the right to reject a selected individual or group, with reasons. Jury members serve one-year terms, with new individuals appointed for the following year. The same webpage states that Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are selected only by the Board of Directors.
That structure is not necessarily improper. Many organizations combine independent evaluation with board oversight. But if the Bikila Award wants the public to have confidence in the process, it should explain how that oversight works in practice.
Transparency is the Best Policy
Who served on the 2026 jury? How many jurors participated? What conflict-of-interest rules apply? What specific criteria were used for the Youth Impact category? Was Adonay or any of the awardees for that matter nominated through the ordinary nomination process? Did the jury select him by majority vote? Did the Board simply approve the jury’s recommendation, or was its power of review involved in the final selection?
These are fair governance questions, not personal attacks.
The organization should consider publishing the names of jury members after each selection cycle, together with a short explanation of the process and a meaningful rationale for each award. If there are legitimate reasons to keep jurors anonymous while deliberations are underway, those reasons can be respected. But once selections are complete, greater disclosure would strengthen public confidence.
It would also protect the organization itself from speculation about favoritism, friendship, political influence or personal preference.
Transparency matters even more when an organization depends on community trust, volunteers, donors and corporate sponsors. The involvement of Ethiopian Airlines raises the stakes even higher. Bikila Award publicly identifies Ethiopian Airlines among its major sponsors and has specifically thanked it as a Gold Sponsor of its activities. This is not an ordinary corporate name. Ethiopian Airlines is Ethiopia’s national flag carrier and describes itself today as Africa’s leading aviation group; in 2025 it was named Skytrax’s Best Airline in Africa for the eighth consecutive year. Its association inevitably lends institutional prestige and credibility to an award bearing the name of Abebe Bikila. That does not mean Ethiopian Airlines chooses the recipients, and without evidence it would be unfair to suggest that it does. But sponsorship by an institution of that stature inevitably increases the public expectation that the award it supports will demonstrate clear standards, sound judgment and transparent governance. When the reputation of the Bikila Award is strengthened by the name of Ethiopian Airlines, questions about controversial selections are no longer matters of internal preference alone; they carry reputational implications for the respected institutions that choose to stand beside it.
A Record Worth Protecting
Criticism should also be fair.
Bikila Award has done more than hold gala dinners. Its own materials highlight youth leadership programs, scholarships, the Bikila Barefoot Challenge and its involvement in the campaign to establish Ethiopic Studies at the University of Toronto. The organization says that engagement with the Ethiopian-Canadian community helped raise more than $500,000 toward Ethiopic Studies at U of T. These are meaningful accomplishments. They should not be erased because people disagree with one selection.
Likewise, posthumous recognition should not automatically be treated as a mistake. The 2026 list includes Laureate Artist Afewerk Tekle, who is being honoured posthumously with the Order of the Shining Star of Ethiopia. There is value in preserving memory and connecting younger generations with people who shaped Ethiopian history and culture.
But posthumous honours should be balanced with recognition for living contributors, especially people whose work can still be encouraged, supported and amplified while they are with us.
That, to me, is the larger issue.
Awards Tell Us What a Community Values
Awards do more than reward achievement. They tell a community what it values.
When we honour a scientist, we tell young people that discovery matters. When we honour a teacher or volunteer, we say service matters. When we honour an artist, entrepreneur or digital creator, we say creativity and influence matter. None of those categories is inherently more worthy than another.
The responsibility lies in explaining what kind of achievement, service or influence has earned the honour.
Bikila Award began its public award ceremony in 2014 with optimism. Its first gala drew more than 300 guests and was remembered by attendees as something that exceeded expectations. More than a decade later, the organization has accumulated something more valuable than a glamorous annual event: a reputation. That reputation was built recipient by recipient, volunteer by volunteer and year by year.
It should be protected.
The appropriate response to the present controversy is not to destroy the Bikila Award or demean a young recipient. It is to ask the organization to live up to the standards it has already set for itself: excellence, integrity, service, positive impact and youth empowerment.
Before the 2026 ceremony, the Board should explain clearly why the Youth Impact Award was given, what criteria were applied and how the selection process worked. Going forward, it should publish enough information about juries, conflicts of interest, board review and recipient rationales to make the process understandable and credible.
That would not weaken the Bikila Award. It would strengthen it.
Abebe Bikila’s legacy survived because his achievement could withstand scrutiny. The award that carries his name should aspire to the same.
As someone who lives by the cherished spirit of Vive la différence, as expressed by French Nobel laureate Anatole France, I say: በመስከረም “አውቀን እንታረም”.
Au revoir!
Editor’s Note: Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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