Mbokodo Awards honour South African women

The theme for this year's event is 'The Phoenix within me: African woman arise!', which reflects the awards focus on recognising the impact that the country's women have had in the area of arts, culture and heritage.

Mbokodo is an initiative of Carol Bouwer Productions working in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture, and aims to empower women to be everything that they possibly can be.

"This year's theme and Mbokodo's vision in general is based on Maya Angelou's powerful poem, Still I Rise," says Bouwer. "In Angelou's unique style, it expresses the power of women to rise above all kinds of adversity, and still to walk tall in the world. It says so much about being a woman, and about the legacy that we as women want to pass on to new generations of young women and girl children."

Mbokodo, says Bouwer, aims to recognise the immense contribution that women, especially those working in arts and culture, have made to rebuilding a cohesive society in South Africa. For the task of transforming a wounded and divided nation falls not only to government and legislators, but to those who give expression to our deepest hopes, fears and ideals.

This is recognised and acknowledged by national government, which is proud to support the Mbokodo Awards.

"As we continue to deepen and expand the gains of our freedom and democracy, it is the work of artists that best reflects the progress we are making in terms of building the kind of society we can all call home; a society we can be proud of," says Paul Mashatile, the Minister of Arts and Culture. "Artists are the conscience of a nation. They chronicle our stories, remind us of where we come from, help us to understand the past and enable us to envision the future. They articulate the wishes, the aspirations and the cries of the people."

Women in arts and culture

The Mbokodo Awards celebrate women in 20 different categories. Nominees are drawn from all around the country, while judging is done using a peer-review mechanism.

"We have decided to steer clear of the popular trend of using public nomination platforms, which are often more about driving the popularity of the awards than about focusing on the quality of the work being nominated," says Bouwer.

"The peer-review mechanism is intended to ensure that the nomination process draws on the invaluable opinion of diverse and multiple experts in the arts, culture and heritage sector. It is further intended to emphasise the prestige of the Mbokodo Awards as the ultimate recognition of excellence by one's peers; the very individuals we all hold in such high regard."

For more, go to www.mbokodoawards.co.za.