Zimbabwe Achievers awards opens nominations to public, launches literary competition
The hunt is on for nominees for the 2012 Zimbabwe Achievers Awards (ZAA). The London-based awards aim to celebrate a broad array of artistic talent, business, community work and overall demonstrable achievement by Zimbabweans across the world. ZAA director Conrad Mwanza said: “We’re pleased to continue supporting Zimbabwean achievers and recognize them for their outstanding contributions on the global arena and in their communities.
“Nominating is a simple act, but one that can make a huge impact. For the next 3 months, we will take an extensive public consultation drive to unearth those unsung Zimbabwean heroes and celebrate the others the world already witnesses. We are calling on all Zimbabweans to voice their choices by helping us recognise and identify them on our website: zimachievers.com/nominate.php ,” he explained.
Once nominated, the businesses, social enterprises, individuals or groups will be reviewed by the ZAA academy panel which will then create a shortlist. Members of the public are free to nominate as many nominees as they wish across the 21 categories of the awards.
According to the award organisers, the 2012 Awards have been revamped to include new categories and an exciting literary award section which invites writers to submit unpublished work to be compiled into a book.
“We are especially most excited about the literary category for 2012. We have tied up plans to compile and publish a book of nominated short stories we will receive,” Mwanza said. “This year we really want to highlight that Zimbabweans across the world can nominate anyone they feel has made a contribution to the community, no matter how big or small. We look forward to a group of high-calibre nominees and believe the new award categories will allow for an even greater diversity among nominees. For us it’s another step in our distinction to recognise Zimbabwean achievements with these most special awards,” he added.
The nomination and voting period began 1 October, coinciding with the ZAA website re-launch and is open until 1 January 2012.
