Judges up to task for The Herald Nelson Mandela University Citizens of Year awards

Judges of the prestigious The Herald Nelson Mandela University Citizens of the Year awards are in for a tough time as they try to trim the list of entrants for the 31st instalment, honouring do-gooders from Frontier Country to the Garden Route.

For more than three decades, the awards have given recognition to ordinary individuals who positively affect the community by selflessly serving those in need. 

And according to longtime judge and former Citizen of the Year, Dr Andrew Muir, it is through the ability to adapt with the times that the awards have managed to be both relevant and significant.

The chief executive of the Wilderness Foundation and former president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber said given the myriad of social issues, the broader community needed role models to provide hope.

“A community needs to have role models who we look up to and admire because of the public good they do,” Muir said.

“The times we are in with all the challenges we have in society and in our city with the combination of water, electricity and unemployment, we need to remember the unsung heroes.

“We need a strong civil society which makes for a strong democracy and that’s why I volunteer my time because we need to take time out to recognise these heroes especially in the times we find ourselves in.”

A panel of six judges will select one winner from each of the 10 categories. 

The judges will also crown one Sister Ethel Award winner, in honour of Normoyle, the first ever recipient of The Herald Citizen of The Year Award.

The Sister Ethel Award is meant to recognise an individual who has done exemplary community work for more than 10 years.

Muir said  he believed there were three elements which made the awards dynamic and were the reason it remained relevant more than three decades later.

“The Herald’s geographical reach from Makhanda through to George and everywhere in between ensures that we receive nominees of citizens doing good all over.

“Second, as judges we have pre-meetings to see if we need to change or expand any of the categories.

“The category needs to be relevant and appropriate for the times.

“For example, the big issue of the day is water so we make sure to include aspects of that whether it be helping others with access to water or innovation through water harvesting, those things need to be applauded.

“Lastly, we have to look how these issues are tackled holistically, not in silos, and as judges we take into consideration how people are working across sectors to help tackle these societal issues.”

The judging panel comprises Muir, SPAR sponsorships and events manager Alan Stapleton, NMU’s senior director of marketing and communications, Chantal Janneker, The Herald and Weekend Post editor Rochelle de Kock, PE Mental Health board member Zodwa Dube and former NMU head of arts and culture Michael Barry.

To nominate an individual (yourself included), a business or organisation, visit www.bit.ly/HeraldCitizens2022 

Entries can be submitted in 10 categories — innovation in water, innovation in environment, sports, arts and culture, business/entrepreneur, education, community, civil society, (curbing) gender-based violence, and health and safety.

Entries close on July 8 and winners will be celebrated during a black-tie gala awards function at the Radisson Blu Hotel in September.

For more information, contact Berna Ulay Walters, ulayb@theherald.co.za.

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