The Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist Award

We are delighted to introduce this year’s Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist Award winners! 

On Wednesday 21 October 2026, we were honoured to celebrate the second edition of the Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist Award Ceremony during the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia. The award was established and 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. 

What is the award for? 

The Irene Dankelman Young Ecofeminist Award recognises and celebrates young ecofeminist leaders for their work towards a more gender-just and sustainable planet for all. It honours and amplifies the transformative work that young women and gender-diverse changemakers are doing every day, in every corner of the globe, to protect biodiversity and the environment. By putting their leadership in the spotlight, we aim to encourage others to replicate and scale community-led, inclusive and effective solutions, and invite funders to support, resource and amplify their initiatives. Each awardee will receive a monetary prize to directly financially support their work.   

The award is inspired by the life and work of the late Irene Dankelman, a pioneer who had a profound belief that women and youth have a vital leadership role in environment and biodiversity protection. You can read more about her legacy in this article.  

The ceremony was made extra special by the following honourable speakers who handed the awards to the winners & shared their knowledge and passions: 

  • H.E. Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia  
  • H.E. Marieke Monroy-Winter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Armenia  
  • Dr. Anush Nersesyan, Leading Researcher, Head of Department of Conservation of Genetic Resources, Armenian National Academy of Sciences
  • Closing words were given by Ms. Olga Azatyan, Head of UN Women Armenia 

 

In the spirit of Irene Dankelman, we are proud to introduce this year’s awardees: dedicated agents of change with immense knowledge, expertise and commitment. Look out for a deep-dive into the awardees’ journeys and work, and their insights from COP17, in the coming days!  

Sarah Adongo, Witness Radio, Uganda

Sarah Adongo is a lawyer and Legal Officer at Witness Radio, a team of human rights investigative journalists, lawyers and social workers who monitor, map and investigate land eviction cases in Uganda. She has a particular focus on the sexual and gender-based violence that so often accompanies evictions, and she has contributed to revising the Ugandan National Land Policy. Sarah works side by side with affected women and their communities, helping them understand and claim their rights and pursue practical legal remedies. She sees them as powerful agents of change, and trains women who are often excluded from consultations to become confident spokespersons and leaders in defending their communities and territories. The selection committee described her work as a “compelling and unusually intersectional file”. 

Yemi Knight, AnchorBridge Environmental, Barbados

Yemi Knight is the founder and Executive Director of AnchorBridge Environmental, a youth-led organisation combining policy advocacy with climate education across the Caribbean. Drawing on their lived experience, Yemi secured reform of the Barbados Water Authority’s Standards of Service, improving water access for rural, lower-income communities. Their research on disaster evacuation planning for LGBTQ+ communities was cited by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in its landmark 2025 Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights. Yemi has also helped shape Barbados’ climate commitments, served as UN Youth Advisor for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean region, and delivered climate literacy briefings to feminist, LGBTQ+ and youth organisations across the region. The selection committee noted that Yemi’s verifiable policy wins are even more remarkable given their public stance as an openly queer Caribbean advocate, where this often takes real courage. 

Monitte Lantas, NKKN, Philippines

Monitte is a young Tagbanwa Indigenous leader from Narra, on the island of Palawan, and President of NKKN, the local youth Indigenous organisation. She is also Secretary of the national coalition, and tirelessly defends her community’s ancestral land and inclusive biodiversity protection. Her youth-led mangrove project has planted over 2000 seedlings, and her campaign against destructive mining helped secure a 50-year mining moratorium for Palawan. She supports Indigenous elders in documenting community processes, has engaged in the Women Environmental Advocator initiative supporting women’s participation in environmental governance, and leads community activities on topics like reproductive health and early marriage . The selection committee described her, at just 24 years old, as a “young but oh so driven” leader. 

Photo credits in this article:
Aram Saloyan

We were able to bring the awardees to Yerevan, Armenia thanks to the WomenPower2030 project.