South African artist wins prestigious HONOR talents global design award
|Published
Tech giant HONOR Technology kicked off the year with exciting news, announcing the winner of the HONOR Talents: Global Design Awards in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
The call for entries for HONOR Talents in South Africa featured a collaboration between the NYDA and HONOR, offering support through an information session for young people and a robust social media campaign to encourage young artists to participate.
Established in 2020, HONOR Talents is the brand’s platform for youth empowerment. It advocates for young creatives and discovers talents across various fields. HONOR Talents currently features two competitions: the Global Design Award and the Voice Maker Original Music Award.
The Global Design Award’s call for entries ran from May to September 2024, attracting over 9,000 participants worldwide. The Middle East and Africa region contributed 53 submissions, including one from Zilungile Hanise’s artwork.
Hanise, a 32-year-old from Gqeberha, impressed the judges with her work and walked away with the Judges' Choice Award. She is the first and only South African to receive this prestigious global recognition.
Flying the flag high for young aspiring South Africans, particularly the youth in Gqeberha, she was pleasantly surprised by her victory.
“I’m really happy to be recognised and working closely with HONOR this year, I’m hoping that a lot of growth will come from this,” said Hanise.
Hanise’s prize includes having her artwork showcased on HONOR brand products for a year, distributed across various provinces, with a percentage of the sales proceeds going directly to her. Additionally, she will serve as a judge at the Global Design Awards in 2025.
HONOR Technology South Africa CEO, Fred Zhou, expressed his enthusiasm with the results of the awards: "I’m extremely proud that South Africa is well represented at such a large scale. As a brand, we not only believe in the power of investing in the talents of young people but showcasing how art and technology are able to integrate to create a lasting product, used by everyone, beyond the win. HONOR is committed to providing its resources to help expand Zilungile’s talent through this investment," he said.
The HONOR Talents hopes to work with young people around the world to create a more imaginative future so that the world can get to witness and experience the gifts and passion of these young talents. While in its fifth year running globally, the second annual Global Design Award 2025 call for entries in South Africa will be communicated, for more young talented youth to participate.
The Star