The Irene Dankelman Award 2024: A look back & awardees!

The Irene Dankelman Award Ceremony
The Irene Dankelman Award Winners (Nadila Left, Daniela Right) and their support team | Credit: Diego Fernando Lozada Salazar

On Tuesday 22 October, 2024,we were honoured to hold the inaugural Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist Award Ceremony during the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 in Cali, Colombia. This award was organised by Women Engage for Common Future (WECF), the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature Netherlands National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL), and Both ENDS, with the objective to honour and amplify the transformative work that young ecofeminist leaders are doing every day in every corner of the globe to create a more gender- just and sustainable planet for all.  

The Irene Dankelman award itself was inspired by the life and work of the late Irene Dankelman, a pioneer who had a profound belief that women have a vital leadership role in environment and biodiversity protection. To read her in memoriam article, and find out more about her inspirational legacy, see here.

Irene always highlighted that women are not passive victims of injustice, but rather, are agents of change with immense knowledge and expertise. While women are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, they continue to fight for a better world for everyone. The 2024 Irene Dankelman awardees (Nadila, Daniela & Marie Christina) are living proof of this stewardship. Their commitment to community owned initiatives and the leadership of women in all their diversity should encourage us all to support, resource and amplify their work, along with that of many others like them.  

The Award Ceremony: Recap

The ceremony took place in the ‘Green Zone’, described by the Colombian COP presidency as the ‘COP of the people’. The auditorium was therefore filled with many young people from Cali itself, rather than being limited to attendees who had official UN accreditation, helping us to share the message beyond the usual circles.

Each awardee received a monetary prize of 5000 euros, to support them in their critical work, as well as support in enhancing their visibility as frontline environmental and social justice defenders. The awardees also had the opportunity to share their work during the awards ceremony. Awardees Nadila and Daniela were both present to receive their awards, while Marie Christina accepted the award virtually, having sent in a thank you video beforehand. See below for a description of the awardees.

During the ceremony, Maria-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, highlighted the violence faced by environmental frontline defenders, particularly women. Noting that COP16’s central theme was “peace with nature,” she reminded us that this peace must also encompass the physical protection of frontline defenders’ bodies—especially Indigenous communities who are fighting to safeguard their land and the natural ecosystems within it. This was something echoed by Daniela, who gave tribute to some of her community members who have paid with their lives for defending their territory in recent years.    

Nadila (Awardee) receiving the Irene Dankelman Award from Maria-Noel Vaeza (UN Women Regional Director) | Credit: Diego Fernando Lozada Salazar

In her closing remarks, Mwanahamisi Singano (Mishy), WEDO’s Policy Director, reminded us that “when it comes to the successful implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, locally owned and gender-just efforts, like those shared by the awardees, MUST be recognized as contributions to the NBSAPs.” She emphasized the critical importance for all of us—especially the Parties—to commit to realizing the Gender Plan of Action and advancing Targets 22 and 23 of the CBD process. 

Other members of the Irene Dankelman Award Ceremony delegation included our very own Executive Director from WECF, Sascha Gabizon, who spoke about Irene Dankelman’s legacy, and the Director for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL), Coenraad Krijger who highlighted the importance of the Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist  Award as a way to celebrate the inspiring work of young changemakers who are at the frontline of environmental protection and gender justice. 

The 2024 Irene Dankelman Awardees 

Aprianti Nadila Selvanus

Aprianti Nadila Selvanus (Nadila), based in Indonesia, has exerted many ecofeminist efforts in influencing local/regional policy, improving the livelihood of 500 villagers, and plays a critical role as spokesperson for women impacted by natural resource threats in her local village council. Nadila’s work contributed to securing local water infrastructure repairs, supporting fish conservation efforts, and participating in community activism for women and girls. Read a previous profile we did on Nadila here. Nadila also identifies as an activist housewife and is a key member of the Badan Perwakilan Desa (BPD) Village Council in West Kalimantan.

 

 

Marie Christina Kolo

Marie Christina Kolo, based in Madgascar, founded several key ecofeminist initiatives supporting women and young people. These include Ecofeminism Madagascar, an online platform about the intersection of gender-based violence and climate change, Green n Kool, an eco-friendly social enterprise mobilizing young people to act for climate/gender issues, and Women Break the Silence to combat rape culture and support survivors. Marie Christina also built the Eco-feminist Hub, a community space for activists, researchers and community members in Madagascar.

 

 

Daniela Soto Pito 

Daniela Soto Pito, is a Colombia-based Indigenous human rights & environmental defender from the Nasa Community. Daniela is involved in the Network of Young Peace Builders of Mi Sangre Foundation and has coordinated an UN Women youth project. Daniela is also a member of the Women’s Programme of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), where she coordinates a youth programme. Currently, she is supporting political processes within the CRIC aiming to defend life and land, and a traditional governer (Ne’jwesx) within her community.

Selection Committee 

The challenging task of selecting the three awardees could only have been entrusted to other global ecofeminist leaders; those who truly understand the demands and the immense effort required to be at the forefront of the fight for gender equality and environmental justice.

The three award winners were chosen by a selection committee consisting of six members:  

  1. Anna Plotnikova
  2. Fatoumata Kiné Niang Mbodji 
  3. Marielle Metzger
  4. Marta Esber 
  5. Nada Elbohi 
  6. Valentina Figuera Martínez