Two hundred and seventy-five finalists from 32 agencies and companies, nine institutions and 38 brands will compete at the iPendoring Awards on 26 November.
iPendoring has announced 275 finalists from 400 entries submitted for its 2026 awards, with work spanning all 11 of South Africa’s Indigenous languages, including South African Sign Language.
The finalists were selected across nine disciplines and 79 categories following judging in September by a 36-member jury led by Thembalethu Msibi, co-founder and head of creative at Black Swan. The judges recorded almost 11 000 scores, including 115 perfect 10s.
Find out all the finalists here.
“We knew there was strong work being made across the country, but the quality, range and ambition of this year’s entries made the judging process something special,” says iPendoring general manager Eben Keun.
isiZulu and Afrikaans attracted the highest number of entries, while multilingual work also accounted for a significant proportion. iPendoring says entries in siSwati and multilingual categories increased compared with 2025.
South African Sign Language is represented among the finalists in Film, Design, Digital and Live Communications.
Students make strong showing
Students accounted for 189 of the entries, with 112 student finalists from nine institutions.
Vega School at Emeris, The Open Window and Red & Yellow Creative School of Business produced the highest numbers of student finalists. Six student projects secured finalist places in three categories each.
Among professional entrants, 163 finalists represent 32 agencies and companies, with 38 clients and brands also represented.
Radio and Audio produced the most finalists, followed by Film, while the craft categories collectively account for 73 finalists.
The Odd Number leads the agency finalist table, followed by M+C Saatchi Abel, McCann Worldgroup South Africa, Klyntji and Publicis Groupe Africa.
Imbizo and awards
The finalists will be celebrated at the iPendoring Awards at the UJ Arts Centre on 26 November.
The awards follow the Indigenous Language Imbizo on 24 November, which will examine the relationship between language, memory and power in a digital environment. This year’s theme is “Under Our Tree: Language, Memory and Power in the Age of Digital Transformation”.
The programme will also include a new National Choral Composition Competition, in partnership with the Mzansi Youth Choir, ATKV, SABC Radio, Brand South Africa and BBA Liminal.
The competition calls on composers to set the Constitution’s Preamble to an original choral work incorporating South Africa’s Indigenous languages. The winning composer will receive R6 000, with the work to be performed by the Mzansi Youth Choir at the awards on 26 November.
Entries for the composition competition close on 14 October.
The iPendoring Awards will also mark 30 years of South Africa’s Constitution with a theatrical performance developed with Theatreduo&Co.
Awards tickets are on sale, with early-bird pricing available until 16 October.
