While the campaign has been there for a number of years, last year the station introduced the awards element to take the campaign to new heights and to have a more tangible recognition of women who are the real imbokodos of KZN.
The call is now open to the public to send through names for nominees’ consideration. The entries will close on 2 August and the awards ceremony will be held on 11 August in Durban. The unique thing about Shero Awards is that it recognises not only women in the public spotlight, but also ordinary women in communities.
The primary criteria for the submission entries is that the chosen nominees' work and contributions must fly the KZN flag high, contribute to the growth, development and national visibility of the KZN province and its community. All candidates must originally be from KZN even if they currently reside in a different province.
The list of categories is as follows:
- Creative Arts (Fine arts, poetry, literature, fashion and architecture)
- Entertainment and Music
- Sports
- Science and Technology
- Big Business Professional (Legal, medical, finance, etc.)
- Enterprise (Small businesses)
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Education
- Public Service (Police, nurse, etc.)
- Community Leadership
- KZN Ambassadors
The overall Shero Award
Every year the overall Shero Award is named after a South African female icon who has made a significant contribution or influence in the history of the country. Last year the overall Shero Award was named after Queen Nandi and this year it will be named after another national icon who will be announced in due course.
The overall Shero Award is received by one of the 11 preselected Sheros and is awarded to that woman that best resonates with the value system and the characteristics of an icon that the award is named after in that year.
Panel of judges
A panel of independent judges will go through all the entries received and shortlist the nominees as per the categories above. This panel is made up of women only who are coming from various academic and professional backgrounds. All the shortlisted nominees will also go through the independent auditing process to ensure that they meet the requirements as per the terms and conditions of the awards.
“We are very happy with the campaign and the awards as it recognises KZN women who are making a mark in various walks of life, who are touching other people’s lives and are an inspiration to the next generation. The awards also come at a time when we continue to see violence against women happening in our communities. We hope that the Shero campaign and the awards will assist in the fight against women abuse and actually profile the roles that women play in uplifting our communities and building a better nation. We call upon people to submit their entries and join us in celebrating good work that our women are doing,” says Gagasi FM Head of Brand, Phinda Magwaza.
For more information about Shero Awards and how to submit entries, visit www.gagasiradio.fm.
