The grand finale is billed for August 22 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC). So the stage is set, as finalists in all the categories have already been identified. Michelle Sharp of West Side Entertainment has assured Showbiz that the finalists for each category have been selected, and now the team is only profiling and auditing the finalists in order to verify their dossiers. She explained that the team has managed to get nominees for all the categories whose winners will be announced at the August 22 grand finale. The Five Roses Thari Ya Sechaba awards are highly credible in that members of the public nominate the contestants and no individual application is entertained. Five Roses, in collaboration with other stakeholders, launched the search for the prospective winners early in the year, by placing forms and Five Roses entry boxes in stores, and supermarkets for members of the public to deposit their entries. The deadline was May 31.
This year's awards have two new categories in addition to the five announced when the awards were introduced last year. The new categories are Special Award and Youth Award. The Youth award category, as would be expected, has limitations in terms of age, as it is open to females between the ages of 13 and 24, while the other is open to any female from 25 years of age and above. The other five are: Educator Category, Health, Arts and Culture, Social Welfare, and Trendsetter. The education category seeks to recognise anyone seen as an educator. In this category falls pre-school, primary school, secondary school teachers, tertiary education and other educational institution tutors. The category also includes non-conventional teachers like peer educators, and AIDS educators. The Health Practitioner Category caters for health practitioners who contribute to the health of the community through providing a healthcare service. The category includes medical doctors, nurses, dentists, dental technicians/therapists, radiographers, physiotherapists and gyneacologists. The other category, the Social Welfare Worker Category, is for people who provide social welfare services. This category covers social workers, counsellors, caretakers and maids. The Arts and Culture Category, which last year was scooped by Judith Sefhako, together with the major award the Thari Ya Sechaba, caters for people who have contributed to the development of the arts in the country. These include sculptors, fine artists, graphic designers, singers, music composers, actors, authors, photographers, play wrights, film producers and directors.
