Zim Achievers announce new awards category as nominations deadline approaches

The Zimbabwe Achievers Awards (ZAA) has announced an exciting new category for the seventh edition as the deadline for the 2017 nominations looms.

The Music Video of the Year award is the latest gong to be added to the list, and with the calibre of music videos produced in the last year, it is set to be a very popular category.

Nominations for the impending awards ceremony scheduled for the 6th of May in London will close on Tuesday 28th February, with organisers saying there has been a huge increase in the number of people who have taken part in the process and, that there are a high number of quality nominations.

ZAA Founder and Chairman Conrad Mwanza said that the awards’ main objective seven years on was to continue to recognise the exceptional work being done by Zimbabweans living in the UK.

“As individuals and as a community we are, and have often been faced with challenges in our respective industries, whether starting a business, or trying to break ground in a particular area in our chosen endeavours, there have been highs and lows. However, despite the obstacles we continue to perservere and endure.

More than ever before, there are many people in the Zimbabwean diaspora community really shaking things up, not only in the UK, but internationally, and the ZAA is about recognising the outstanding contributions of all these people and organisations.”

“The ZAA’s have become part of a community culture that we are continuing to build and that has grown tremendously over the years. It is a culture embedded in recognising, rewarding and celebrating, not only those who are excelling, but those who are rising and establishing themselves,” he added.

Following the close of nominations, the ZAA’s panel of experts will look at the submissions to verify the candidates’ credibility and claims of achievement before narrowing the list down and announcing this year’s award hopefuls at a live press conference on the 17th of March.

“As has been the experience every year, we continue to get a great number of nominations.

It is wonderful to see that seven years later people remain engaged with the awards programme and that more people are taking up the opportunity to participate in the making of the awards,” Mwanza said.

“We will reveal the number of nominations we’ve received when we announce the shortlist. Voting on the shortlisted candidates will commence shortly after the announcement and close at the end of April,” he added.

This year’s awards will be held on Saturday 6th May 2017 at the Cumberland hotel right in the heart of central London where Oxford Street meets Parklane. From the unique Jimi Hendrix Suite to London’s finest restaurants and bars, not forgetting the dramatic Ocean Room conference spot, the spectacular venue is a stone’s throw away from the popular high street and the British Museum.

Award nominations opened in the first week of January across all 18 categories and the public have just under a week to put forward those individuals and organisations they feel have delivered some remarkable work throughout the course of the past year.

Tickets are now available at a discount of £55 and are being sold exclusively on www.zimachievers.com/uk

“We have decided to revise the ticket prices this year and we have a three tier ticket campaign in place that will run throughout March and April.

There are a limited number of early bird tickets for £55, and this campaign will end on the 1st of March. Thereafter, tickets will be £65 until the end of March, and £75 from the beginning of April. Mwanza added.

The ZAA annual gala dinner has become the society red carpet event of the year and the pinnacle of recognition and celebration for the achievements of people of Zimbabwean heritage in the UK. Having expanded to the USA last year, the organisation is set to add a new portfolio to the growing brand, with Australia set to be announced in the coming weeks.

The brand is also adding another exciting programme to their annual agenda and there are plans for a Global summit in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Economic Society in September.