It's Awards Season in V-World!
03/26/2014
As women, men, and youth continue to rise for justice, the world is taking notice. From The Shorty Awards in NYC to the Hildegarde Award in the Philippines, One Billion Rising, coordinators, and v-activists are being recognized for their work to end violence against women and girls. Below are some highlights of the awards and honors that the campaign and activists have garnered, we are so proud to work alongside all of you!
One Billion Rising Finalist for Shorty Industry Award
One Billion Rising is a finalist for The Shorty Industry Award for Best Social Good Campaign! The Shorty Awards honor the talented agencies, brands, and industry leaders behind the best social media channels, campaigns, websites, games, and applications. Every year, millions of people visit the Shorty Awards site to support their favorite social media content creators by tweeting nominations.
We are especially proud to be included as a finalist because it proves yet again the power of local activists. Of all of the finalists for Best Social Good Campaign, One Billion Rising is the only in-house, non-agency initiative, and we could not be more proud of our incredible team and all of you who made One Billion Rising the biggest global mass action to end violence against women in history!
One Billion Rising Global Director Monique Wilson Accepts Hildegarde Award
On International Women's Day (8 March), One Billion Rising Director Monique Wilson accepted the Hildegarde Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong commitment to advocating women’s rights in theater, media, and the performing arts.
Since 2007, St. Scholastica's College-Manila, through its Mass Communication Department, has been staging the Hildegarde Awards for Women in Media and Communication. The award is named after the 12th century Benedictine saint, mystic, artist, environmentalist, and healer Hildegarde of Bingen, and was created to "honor and recognize the outstanding works of women." The Hildegarde Awards is the only award-giving body that recognizes the role of women in contributing to Philippine media.
READ Monique's inspiring acceptance speech >
V-Activist & Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative Founder Agnes Pareiyo Honored In Nairobi
On the eve of the International Women's day, the first ever Inspirational Women Of The Year Awards took place at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
The award celebrated women from the 47 counties who have made impressive contributions towards the empowerment of women, girls, and families. The event was a culmination of a successful collaboration between the National Gender and Equality Commission, Mothers and Daughters, the Hilton Hotel, the Standard Group and the support of development partners UNFPA and UNDP.
Agnes is a long-time V-Day activist and Founder of Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative, a safe house and education program aimed at ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early forced childhood marriages (ECM) in the Maasai community.
READ A Journey To Rising With V-Day - By Agnes Pareyio >
One Billion Rising India Receives Karmaveer Puraskaar Award
On February 27 V-Day activist, theater director, and Emmy award winner Kaizaad Kotwal, and actor/producer Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal accepted the "Dr. Verghese Kurien One Vision to Make A Difference in Our World Karmaveer Puraskar” award on behalf of V-Day and all One Billion Rising activists. The award is named after Dr. Verghese Kurien, a renowned activists in the struggle in India for independence and freedom for human rights for all. The prestigious Karmaveer Puraskaar awards are presented by iCONGO - The International Confederation of NGOs, and highlight "the spirit of outstanding human beings who effect drastic changes for the betterment of the society." Over the years, Karmaveer awards have become a highly coveted civil society and people's award.
One Billion Rising Coordinators Honored in Peru
Two of our regional coordinators - Carmen Castillo in Trujillo and Silvia Negron in Arequipa - were honored by local authorities for their outstanding work bringing One Billion Rising for Justice to their communities and raising awareness for local issues of violence against women and justice for survivors.GABRIELA Awarded the Hildegarde Award for Outstanding Developmental
Campaign in the Philippines for the One Billion Rising 2013 CampaignGABRIELA is a nationwide alliance of more than 200 women's organizations that cut across sectors and regions, plus chapters and support groups of Filipinas and non-Filipinas in various continents of the world now celebrating its 30th year. The GABRIELA National Alliance of Women - considered the most militant women's movement in the Philippines, is a grassroots-based alliance of women all over the Philippines and Philippine groups around the world, seeking to wage a struggle for the liberation of all Filipino women and girls who are oppressed, exploited and abused. They organize women especially from the sectors of farmers, workers, urban poor and students, and vigorously campaign on women-specific issues such as women's rights, discrimination, violence against women, women's health and reproductive rights. GABRIELA is also at the forefront of national and international economic and political issues that affect women. At the same time, GABRIELA provides actual direct services for marginalized women through its National Office, provincial and regional centers and member institutions. GABRIELA led the One Billion Rising Philippines campaigns in the Philippines and within Filipino migrant communities in 22 countries in 2013 and 2014, forming a multi-sectoral task force group made up of women workers, urban poor women, fisher women, peasant women, students, comfort women of World War 2, teachers, church women, artists, and migrant women and their families - bringing to the forefront the issues of militarisation, state neglect, rapes by men in uniform and by men in authority, human and sex trafficking, forced migration, labor export policies, exploitation of women workers, indigenous women's issues, women's health, among many others. On October 28, 2000, the Gabriela Women's Party was founded as an offshoot of GABRIELA, and GABRIELA leaders have been sitting as Congressional representatives since then - continuing the fight for the Filipina women's demand for social justice, equality, freedom and democracy.
V-Day Executive Director Susan Celia Swan Honored by San Francisco Mayor Lee
On 25 March, V-Day Executive Director Susan Celia Swan was honored by San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee at "Women Making History Celebration 2014." The annual event, presented by The San Francisco Commission and Department on the Status of Women and the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women, has been taking place since 1996 as part of Women's History Month initiatives in San Francisco to recognize the contributions of women in the community.