Cambridge, MA—Calestous Juma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor at MIT, received a LAAP Prize (Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize) for his leadership in socio-economic development in Africa. The award will be presented to Juma in Nigeria on October 10, 2014, by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

Juma, a research affiliate at the MIT Center for International Studies, is among 16 recipients of this year's esteemed award. The Millennium Excellence Foundation noted that the nominations were "unprecedented as the laureates met the mark of excellence of distinction never seen in the continent in several decades."

African heads of state, leaders of industry across the continent, academicians, the diplomatic corps and a host of politicians will join in to celebrate this year's laureates.

The LAAP laureates will also participate in an economic forum to discuss issues rising from food security and sustainability to the scourge of Ebola in Africa. The outcomes of the discussions by the laureates will be communicated to African leaders and the general public.

Every two years, members of the Board of Governors of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, nominate those who deserve recognition of good merit and have displayed leadership within critical areas of socio-economic development in Africa, which they have championed and impacted the lives of Africans for the better.

For more information on the 2014 LAAP laureates click here.