By Staff Reporter
HARARE — The Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE) has launched its inaugural awards, opening nominations for six categories recognising Zimbabweans making a difference through community leadership, innovation, storytelling and the preservation of the country’s history.
Launched on Monday, the inaugural CITE Awards 2026 will recognise individuals and grassroots organisations whose contributions to Zimbabwean communities and public life often go unrecognised.
Running under the theme “Celebrating the people, stories and voices shaping Zimbabwe,” the awards are open to nominations from members of the public in Zimbabwe and the diaspora until November 14.
CITE director Zenzele Ndebele said the initiative would provide a platform for celebrating people whose work is helping communities overcome challenges and shaping the country’s social and cultural landscape.
“Across Zimbabwe, people are doing extraordinary work in their communities, developing solutions to everyday challenges, creating content that informs and inspires, and preserving stories that help us understand our past.
“The CITE Awards will give the public an opportunity to recognise and celebrate these contributions,” Ndebele said.
Recognition will span six categories, namely CITE Person of the Year, Community Changemaker of the Year, Young Innovator of the Year, Zim Diaspora Ambassador of the Year, ZPRA Liberation Archives Interviewee of the Year and Content Creator of the Year.
The Community Changemaker of the Year category is open to individuals and grassroots organisations whose work improves lives or addresses challenges at community level, while the Young Innovator of the Year award targets individuals aged between 18 and 35.
Zimbabweans living abroad can be nominated for the Diaspora Ambassador award in recognition of their positive representation and contribution to the country.
The Content Creator of the Year category will recognise original Zimbabwean content published in 2026 that informs, inspires or entertains while maintaining quality and integrity.
A separate category, the ZPRA Liberation Archives Interviewee of the Year, will recognise an interviewee featured in CITE’s collection of first-hand accounts documenting Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
The category is being presented in collaboration with The Frontline.
Separately, CITE Person of the Year will honour an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to public life in Zimbabwe during 2026.
Members of the public can nominate themselves or other eligible individuals and organisations through the official online nomination form, which takes less than three minutes to complete on a mobile phone.
Supporting links are encouraged, although nominations for Content Creator of the Year must include links to original work published during 2026.
Up to five finalists will be selected in each category following eligibility checks and nominee consent between November 16 and 20, with the shortlist scheduled for announcement on November 23.
Public voting will run from November 23 to December 11, with the results in five categories determined through a combination of independent judges’ scores, weighted at 70 per cent, and verified public votes, accounting for 30 per cent.
The ZPRA Liberation Archives Interviewee of the Year will be determined entirely through verified public voting, subject to eligibility checks.
Vote verification and final judging will take place between December 14 and 18, ahead of the announcement of winners on December 30 or 31.
Winners will receive official CITE Awards certificates and winner badges, while their stories will be documented through dedicated features or short films reaching audiences in Zimbabwe and the diaspora.
Every finalist will also be profiled by CITE, with the organisation saying the initiative will build a lasting record of individuals and organisations shaping Zimbabwe today.
Nominations and voting are free.
However, CITE staff, judges, public office holders, political figures and their immediate family members are excluded from nomination.
The nomination form, category requirements and full rules are available on CITE’s website at https://cite.org.zw/cite-awards-2026-nominate-someone-making-a-difference/.
