WUNRN
FIRST MARY ROBINSON AWARD FOR YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN HUMAN RIGHTS - WORLD YWCA COUNCIL
Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland
(1990-1997) and present Chair of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate
Justice, gave a keynote speech today in Zurich, Switzerland to present the
first ever Mary Robinson Award for Young Women's Leadership in Human Rights, at
the 4th International Women's Summit, organised as part of the World YWCA
Council 2011.
Awards were presented to Jacinta Nyachae, the founder of the AIDS Law
Project in
The four recipients who were selected from an extensive list of potential
candidates, serve as an inspiration and hope for women worldwide. They were
judged on impact, community empowerment, innovation, human rights focus,
adaptability, motivation, and partnership with others.
In the words of Jacinta Nyachae: "If I have changed a few souls, I
will have done my share in serving humanity"
In her speech, Ms Robinson congratulated the awardees and emphasized the
critical work that the recipients of the award and delegates from the
conference are doing around the world to further human rights. Ms.
Robinson demonstrated the need for further advocacy: "The world itself has
woken up to the largely untapped potential of young girls and
women." Speaking on issues such as child marriage, education, and
healthcare, Ms. Robinson stressed the need for both broad alliances and work
within local communities, "The most effective way to bring about the
change we need is to empower girls themselves, but they need examples to
follow, they need young women leaders to stand up and have their voices
heard."
The full plenary hall resounded with applause and admiration both for Mary
Robinson and the four awardees and the search for next year's candidates for
the award has already begun.
For
further information, please contact:
Vivian
Hakkak
Director
of Communication - World YWCA
Email:
Vivian.hakkak@worldywca.org
Tel:
0041 22 929 60 30 - mobile: 0041 78 740 24 22
World
YWCA website: www.worldywca.org
WorldCouncil
website: www.worldywcacouncil.org