South Africans have been asked to nominate achieving women for the arts and culture category of South Africa's Woman of the Year Award, the premier accolade for achievement by women. The award, sponsored by Shoprite Checkers and SABC3, will be run for the sixth time this year.

General criteria for nominations are whether the nominee has leadership skills, drive and a strong personal vision for herself and others; whether she is articulate and persuasive, and whether her work is relevant to the socio-economic conditions in her community and South Africa as a whole. The nominee’s capability as a role model is also important.

Nominees in the arts and culture category need to have fostered one or more of the art forms and/or cultures in South Africa. This could have been done through the individual's own artistic or cultural creations, or through their development of the work of others.

Two rounds of adjudication will determine the category finalists and winners. The overall winner will be selected via a process of personal interviews with the panel of judges.

Apart from nominating achieving women in the seven categories of the award, South Africans may vote for the woman whom they believe should be chosen as the overall winner of the award.

The category and overall winner will be announced in a celebratory programme to be broadcast on SABC3 at 19h00 on August 9 - National Women's Day.

Nominations close on June 1 and forms are available at all Shoprite Checkers stores and SABC3 offices. Nominations can also be made over the Internet at sawoman.co.za.