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Social Development Award Statement by Vongai P Mangwiro
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Africa Social Work and Development Network for nominating me to receive an award. I’m deeply humbled and incredibly grateful to accept the Social Development Award from the Social Development Network. To be recognized by an organization that has done so much to champion community progress, social integration, and empowerment is truly the highlight of my career. In the field of social work and development, our greatest successes are never achieved in isolation. I share this award with the dedicated colleagues, mentors, and community partners I’ve had the privilege to work alongside. This recognition isn’t just a celebration of past milestones; it is a profound motivation for the future. It strengthens my resolve to continue striving for equitable growth, poverty alleviation, and a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Thank you once again to the Social Development Network for this incredible honour, and to all of you for your unwavering support and shared commitment to building a better, more inclusive world.
The Mtandao Awards recognise excellence in African social work and social development. Nominations can be made through out the year, details are on the website. There are 15 categories as follows:
| Number | Category | Who can be nominated / what work qualifies |
| 1 | Social Worker of the Year | A practising social worker whose frontline work over the past year has made a demonstrable difference to individuals, families or communities in Africa |
| 2 | Lifetime Achievement Award (Sankofa Award) | A senior figure whose career, spanning decades, has shaped the social work profession or social development field in Africa through leadership, scholarship or practice |
| 3 | Mzee Award | A senior social worker or elder of the profession, recognised for long service and contribution to social work education or practice over many years |
| 4 | Decolonising Award | A scholar, practitioner or activist whose work challenges Eurocentric frameworks and centres African and Indigenous knowledges in social work theory, research or education |
| 5 | Developmental Worker of the Year Award | A community or development practitioner whose grassroots work, such as youth training, livelihoods or empowerment programmes, has produced lasting impact with limited resources |
| 6 | Social Development Award | An individual whose research, policy or practice advances rights-based social development, including work on disability, mental health, justice or social protection |
| 7 | Community Work Award (Ujamaa Award) | An individual or group whose community-based, cooperative or collective work embodies Ujamaa values of shared responsibility and mutual upliftment |
| 8 | Social Work Education Award | An academic or programme leader who has built or strengthened social work education, particularly curricula grounded in African-centred knowledge |
| 9 | Student Award (Undergraduate, Honours, Masters and PhD) | A social work student at any level of study, from undergraduate through honours, masters or PhD, whose academic work, research or combination of study and community practice makes a notable contribution to social work or social development in Africa |
| 10 | Service Award (for Organisations, Groups, Committees or Institutions) | An organisation, group, committee or institution whose sustained service has advanced social work education, practice or knowledge sharing on the continent |
| 11 | Researcher of the Year | An established researcher whose published or ongoing work has significantly advanced social work or social development scholarship in the past year |
| 12 | Emerging Research Award | An early-career researcher whose recent work shows strong promise and original contribution to social work or social development scholarship |
| 13 | Family Development Award (Ukama) | An individual, family or organisation whose work strengthens family wellbeing, parenting, kinship care or family-centred social development |
| 14 | Global Social Work and Development Award | An individual or organisation outside Africa whose work advances African social work and development, or strengthens global solidarity with the profession on the continent |
| 15 | Social Media and Digital Advocacy Award | An individual or organisation using social media or digital platforms to advance African social work knowledge, decolonising narratives, or Ubuntu-grounded practice to wider audiences |
| 16 | Mentorship Award | An individual sustaining a mentoring relationship that has supported the growth of a student, early-career practitioner or researcher in social work or social development |
| 17 | Ethics Award | An individual or committee whose contribution to research ethics governance has strengthened Ubuntu-grounded and African-led ethics practice |
| 18 | Gender Award | An individual, group, committee or organisation whose work applies African feminist and gender theory, including work that challenges or addresses misogyny, sexism, femicide, intimate partner violence, gender-based violence and girl violence |
| 19 | Umvelo-Maathai Award (Environmental Award) | An individual, group or organisation whose work advances environmental sustainability, climate justice or environmental stewardship grounded in African knowledge |
| 20 | Diaspora Award | An individual, group or organisation applying African philosophy such as Ubuntu, and other African theories and knowledge, in the diaspora, with work extending beyond African diaspora populations to other populations too |
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