01of 06The DVF Awards Take Paris!Monica Schipper/Getty"It’s an honor that such a prestigious conference invited us to be part of their opening event," von Furstenberg tells PEOPLE ahead of Wednesday’s festivities. “And for me, I grew up here. Paris is where I became a feminist, and it holds a lot of meaning. It’s like going home.“Calling this year’s group of nominees “brave, compassionate and strong,” von Furstenberg reiterates that the founding mission behind the DVF Awards is celebrating women who have “the strength to fight, the courage to survive and the leadership to inspire.”
01of 06
The DVF Awards Take Paris!
Monica Schipper/Getty
“It’s an honor that such a prestigious conference invited us to be part of their opening event,” von Furstenberg tells PEOPLE ahead of Wednesday’s festivities. “And for me, I grew up here. Paris is where I became a feminist, and it holds a lot of meaning. It’s like going home.”
Calling this year’s group of nominees “brave, compassionate and strong,” von Furstenberg reiterates that the founding mission behind the DVF Awards is celebrating women who have “the strength to fight, the courage to survive and the leadership to inspire.”
02of 06Melinda French Gates: Lifetime Leadership AwardMelinda Gates.Noam Galai/WireImageAs a global advocate for women and girls, the philanthropist and businesswoman has worked tirelessly for social progress and to improve gender equity around the world. Thanks to her 20+ year tenure as the co-chair of the theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she continues to champion work that empowers women and families and showcases how important it is invest in women for the overall prosperity and betterment of society. She also founded the investment and incubation company,Pivotal Ventures, as another vehicle to drive opportunities for women and families in the United States. For all these achievements (and much more), Gates will be presented with Lifetime Leadership DVF Award.
02of 06
Melinda French Gates: Lifetime Leadership Award
Melinda Gates.Noam Galai/WireImage
As a global advocate for women and girls, the philanthropist and businesswoman has worked tirelessly for social progress and to improve gender equity around the world. Thanks to her 20+ year tenure as the co-chair of the theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she continues to champion work that empowers women and families and showcases how important it is invest in women for the overall prosperity and betterment of society. She also founded the investment and incubation company,Pivotal Ventures, as another vehicle to drive opportunities for women and families in the United States. For all these achievements (and much more), Gates will be presented with Lifetime Leadership DVF Award.
03of 06Clarissa Ward: Inspiration AwardCourtesy Clarissa Ward/InstagramAsCNN’s chief international correspondent, Ward’s high-profile investigative journalism assignments have spanned everything from covering the pandemic at the height of it’s second deadly wave in India to reporting live from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul. (And that’s just in the past 18 months.)Ward has dedicated two decades of her career as a conflict reporter on the front lines in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Ukraine. Documenting world-shifting events at close range, she’s known for her fearless reporting and delivering in-depth investigations.
03of 06
Clarissa Ward: Inspiration Award
Courtesy Clarissa Ward/Instagram
AsCNN’s chief international correspondent, Ward’s high-profile investigative journalism assignments have spanned everything from covering the pandemic at the height of it’s second deadly wave in India to reporting live from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul. (And that’s just in the past 18 months.)
Ward has dedicated two decades of her career as a conflict reporter on the front lines in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Ukraine. Documenting world-shifting events at close range, she’s known for her fearless reporting and delivering in-depth investigations.
04of 06
Vanessa Nakate: Next Generation Award
Courtesy Vanessa Nakate
She campaigns internationally to raise awareness on the lasting impacts of climate change already happening in Africa, while offering some actionable climate solutions, starting with the importance of educating young women.
Last month, Nakate coveredTIME Magazine’s climate issue, writing a powerful essay about the need to provide platforms to activists across the continent.
“I’ll be the first to agree that we need more diversity on platforms and that more young activists should be given opportunities to talk about the challenges their countries or regions are facing,” she wrote in herTIMEpiece. “There should be 54 or 216 or 1,026 activists from every African nation-state speaking at international climate conferences and to their own governments. Every activist has a story to tell; every story has a solution to give; and every solution has a life to change.”
05of 06
Dr. Rouba Mhaissen: International Award
Courtesy Dr. Rouba Mhaissen
06of 06Wai Wai Nu: International AwardCourtesy Wai Wai Nu/InstagramThehuman rights activistspent seven years as a political prisoner in Burma, and since her release from prison in 2012, she’s dedicated her life to championing for democracy on behalf of marginalized women and members of her ethnic group, the Rohingya. She’s the founder and Executive Director of theWomen’s Peace Networkin Burma, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of oppressed groups across Myanmar.“It our responsibility to ensure that justice is served for all refugees,” sheshared during a speech the Sedona Forum in April. “We must hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, including sexual violence and genocide. If we fail to end all impunity, the cycle of violence and refugee exodus will continue.”
06of 06
Wai Wai Nu: International Award
Courtesy Wai Wai Nu/Instagram
Thehuman rights activistspent seven years as a political prisoner in Burma, and since her release from prison in 2012, she’s dedicated her life to championing for democracy on behalf of marginalized women and members of her ethnic group, the Rohingya. She’s the founder and Executive Director of theWomen’s Peace Networkin Burma, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of oppressed groups across Myanmar.
“It our responsibility to ensure that justice is served for all refugees,” sheshared during a speech the Sedona Forum in April. “We must hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, including sexual violence and genocide. If we fail to end all impunity, the cycle of violence and refugee exodus will continue.”
source: people.com
