The virtual showcases gave each of the 128 participants a chance to share their progress and celebrate their achievements over the past eight months.

The eight-month programme provided selected Facebook groups' community leaders with training, mentorship and funding. It also provided leaders with the opportunity to showcase their vision for the future to an audience of their peers and external partners.

The recipients will be awarded additional funding from each regional demo day, as decided by a panel of external judges and the programme participants themselves. Communities were evaluated on their:
  • programme participation
  • execution of their projects, and
  • projected impact of how they would use the additional funding.
These recipients span communities that support a wide range of people and causes. Each recipient will receive USD$30 000 in additional funding. 

Tshililo Ramuada, South African entrepreneur of South African Arts and Culture Youth Forum, was announced as the recipient who will be awarded additional funding of USD$30 000 from each demo day. 

South African Arts and Culture Youth Forum is a community that trains and empowers underprivileged artists from township and rural areas in South Africa through partnerships with other organisations, businesses and governments.

Its aim is to make arts, culture and heritage opportunities accessible to poor disadvantaged artists through job creation.

The Europe recipients
Muslim Mamas is a United Kingdom (UK) community of 23 000 plus Muslim women from all walks of life where they advise, support and provide quality information on everything from legal guidance to relationships.

Over the past eight months, Muslim Mamas has:
  • hosted a series of online events
  • provided educational activities, and
  • increased their email subscribers and followers across all platforms with their renewed social channel strategy.
The other Europe recipients include:
The Middle East North African recipients
SYNC Community is a community of 124 000 plus members that was established to bridge the gap between aspiring creatives and professionals in the creative industry. This is through providing workshops, courses and other educational activities.

SYNC Community says that it has helped thousands of people get connected to job opportunities through '#SYNCareers'.

The other Middle East and North African recipients include:
The sub-Saharan Africa recipients 
Tales Of Nigerians started in 2018 as a safe space to:
  • share real-life experiences
  • gain mental support, and
  • grow their emotional intelligence.
With over 98 000 members, Tales of Nigerians hosts community events, training and outreach both online and offline. This is with the aim to positively impact the lives of both members and non-members.

It launched a new mental health training programme within three regions, covering over 12 states in Nigeria, and also increased its community members.

The other sub-Saharan Africa recipients include:
Latin America recipients
Copa Menstrual is a community in Mexico that has evolved into a safe space to talk about women's health and a number of taboo topics, including:
  • menstruation
  • sexuality, and
  • female empowerment.
In the last five years, the community has reached more than 800 000 people through its social channels and created scalable digital projects to support education in elementary schools.

The other recipients from Latin America include:
North America recipients
Speak Your Truth is a community that aims to help amplify the voices of victims and survivors of domestic violence through:
  • abuse education
  • linking survivors to resources
  • providing emotional support, and
  • celebrating freedom.
Over the past three years, Speak Your Truth has grown to 18 000 plus members worldwide. According to the group's admin, the organisation has helped about three people every week leave abusive relationships and start journeys towards healing.

The other North American recipients include:
Asia Pacific recipients
KakiRepair by KakiDIY started the community in Malaysia in 2017 as a movement to encourage people to fix their own belongings rather than just throw them away. Its 46 000 plus members actively post-repair related issues and constantly help each other to solve problems and share best practices.

The other recipients from Asia Pacific include:
Facebook says that it congratulates the 128 participants on the successful completion of the programme and the ongoing work they do to create positive change and meaningful connections in people's lives.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com.