Following weeks of public nominations from across the African continent and its diaspora, the final nominees for the much-anticipated New African Woman Awards 2017 have been announced.

Chosen in 12 categories, 68 groundbreaking women have made the final list which will now be adjudicated by a special panel of judges, and the winners in each category will be announced on 12 April at a Gala Dinner in Dakar, Senegal.

The new UN deputy secretary-general, Amina J. Mohammed, Somalia’s first female presidential candidate Fadumo Dayib, Gambia’s doyen of democratic change, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the South African Olympic gold medallist  Caster Semenya and her fellow countrywoman, former public protector Thuli Madonsela, are some of the names that made the final list from  the thousands of nominations received.

Organised by the pan-African bi-monthly, New African  the Awards – which celebrate and honour exceptional African women who have made a positive impact and contributions in their communities, and the continent at large, in the past 12 months will take place on the eve of the New African Woman Forum, which takes place at Dakar’s Terrou-Bi Hotel on 13 April.