Miss Africa 2021 Calabar reigning Queen, Sarra Sellimi, is a 23-year-old Architecture student from Tunisia. It was her first time competing in a pageant and as luck would have it, she is was crowned queen of the most diverse beauty pageant on the continent.

As Miss Africa Calabar, Sarra has many ambitions. In the difficult context of the pandemic, she hopes she will have an impact that will be remembered. Since she is studying architecture and loves drawing, she intends to reconceptualize, and reinvent social housing in Africa. She believes it’s an important issue, especially for a working-class population in the Sub-Saharan African cities. The strong demographic growth, along with the issue of illegal social housing, presents a challenge she will proudly take on.

Besides this, Sarra wants to spread her passion for fitness. She has been into sports since her childhood. She also grew up in a family of football players: this background in particular has taught her important values such as leadership, dedication, and respect. She believes that fitness is the ultimate way to become the best version of oneself. It has taught her to accept critiques, to listen more, to be humble, and to help people in need. Overall, fitness has made her understand that it is only hand in hand, that people are capable of making the greatest achievements. She has plans to travel across various African countries to show the youth – our future leaders – that sport holds valuable ethics. “I want to encourage young people to train, and show them that something only seems impossible until it’s done. Those are the words of Nelson Mandela and I can only agree!”

Sarra has recently been working on her own fitness brand, with a friend of hers: ‘Volk Activewear’. She feels the need to inform her fellow Africans about entrepreneurship. “Our continent has, without doubt, incredible resources, and one of the youngest populations in the world. My ultimate goal is to focus on giving our continent the tools, the resources, in order to help it build its own wings, and become independent.”

Being Miss Africa Calabar allows me to have a voice, to be able to deliver a message of positivity, to fight for human rights, but most importantly to share and transmit the knowledge that I have earned from my personal experience.

Sarra also holds close to her heart the desire of resolving conflicts in our continent. “Tunisia is known for being the place where the Arab Spring was born. I have indeed experienced dictatorship, a revolution, and I have closely seen the process of trying to move on from that dark time and building a democracy. I want peace for our continent. I perfectly understand how difficult that must be, but I hope I will be able to promote love and unity, for our dear Africa, filled with magical diversity.”