LONDON – The deadline for nominations for the South African and UK editions of the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards (ZAA) is fast approaching, with organizers encouraging the public to continue to nominate across the board.
Nominations for the South African edition will close on 18 February. The nominee announcement is scheduled for 22 February and voting will begin on March 1.
The deadline for the UK version will follow 10 days later, on Wednesday 28 February. Following the closing date, ZAA’s panel of judges will verify the nominee submissions before whittling the names down to a shortlist that will be announced on 8 March in London.
Categories will be announced in a live presentation via global live stream on Zimachievers.com and the Zim Achievers Facebook page.
“We have seen a huge increase over the years of good quality nominations in both the UK and South Africa, as more people have bought into the vision of the awards and are proud to put forward their peers who are excelling in various industries,” said Panel Chair, Tawanda Chiwira.
“We are edging closer to a decade of recognising and rewarding individuals of Zimbabwean heritage in the UK, and if it were not for the public who help us shine a light on the individuals and organisations that are making a huge difference, then there are a number of people who would go unrecognised.”
“We are grateful to those who have played and are still playing an instrumental part in keeping this vision alive,” he added.
Voting for the UK edition will commence soon after the announcement and close at the end of April.
This year’s awards will be held on Saturday 12 May 2018 at the Grange City Hotel in London. The luxury hotel is a stone’s throw away from the River Thames and overlooks the Tower of London and the iconic Tower Bridge.
Award nominations opened in the first week of January across all 18 categories. An exciting new addition to the UK category list this year is the breakthrough/newcomer of the year award which will recognize a newcomer to the industry who has exceeded expectations and thrived in the last year.
Tickets are also on sale; and the three tier ticket campaign, introduced last year, has been implemented once again in response to positive feedback received about the special offer on tickets last year. They are being sold exclusively for £75 until the end of March.
Meanwhile, the ZAA SA gala will be held on 7 April at the Hilton hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.
South Africa will follow a similar ticketing model and tickets are available for R650 until the end of February and R750 thereafter. All tickets can be purchased from zimachievers.com/uk for UK residents and from zimachievers.com/sa for those who reside in South Africa and other neighbouring countries.
The ZAA annual gala dinner has become the society red carpet event of the year and the pinnacle of recognition for the achievements of people of Zimbabwean heritage in the UK, South Africa, USA and Australia. Canada is on the cards and an announcement is imminent.
