Zimbabwe Achievers Awards proud of Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda

The Zimbabwe Achievers Awards is the pinnacle of celebration of talent, art, business, expression and achievement in the Zimbabwean community throughout a  broad spectrum of genres.

The Z.A.A aims to recognise the commitment to excellence, creativity, innovation and dedication of those Zimbabweans who have continued to expand on their talents and skill-sets at a global leadership level.

To date the ZAA has showcased Zimbabweans who have made significant global impact in business, health, conservation and environment but more significantly, champions who have leveraged their global influence to empower the grassroots, especially women and children.

The ZAA is therefore proud of the achievements of Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda which include

·      Pursuing the core mandate of UN Women for more than 20 years, and engaged with women and youth organizations and civil society at grassroots level

·      Serving with UNICEF, UNIFEM and the various UN Commissions where she gained insight into the workings of the multi-lateral systems in the United Nations.

·      High-level leadership at the International Conference for the Great Lakes which saw her integrating gender equality and women’s rights. She led the peace negotiations for Sudan and Somalia, as well as in the ICPD Plus 20 and post MDG agenda. She therefore has the gravitas to engage politically and diplomatically with member states at the political and technical levels

·      Demonstrating her negotiation skills in advancing the normative framework for women’s rights and empowerment exemplified in the development of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Women’s Rights in Africa, the CEDAW implementation, the engagement with UN Commission on Status of Women.

·      Engaging strategically (at UNIFEM and World YWCA) with bilateral donors, such as Norway, Sweden, Australia; as well as with private foundations and women’s funds and individuals in mobilizing resources. She has also engaged with the aid effectiveness agenda including the Paris Principles and the Busan agenda on resourcing for gender equality.

·      Global hands-on knowledge of issues facing women, while managing multi-cultural teams from such regions as  Europe, the Americans, Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean.

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda has exemplified that rare quality of demonstrating  creative strategic leadership of very complex global organizations whilst ensuring that there bring  pragmatic and sustainable  interventions at the local level.

The ZAA panel is confident that, if appointed to the role of Director General UN-Women, Nyaradzayi will bring her wealth of experience in managing complex multi-cultural relationships and networks to bring greater strategic leadership focus.