Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Honors Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Executive Director of UN Women, With 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award
PR91736
SEATTLE, Sept. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
-- Foundation also recognizes three additional Goalkeepers Global Goals award
winners who are taking action to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development
Goals
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,
former United Nations under-secretary-general and executive director of UN
Women, as the winner of the 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award. As part of its annual
Goalkeepers campaign (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=1168910361&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gatesfoundation.org%2Fgoalkeepers%2F&a=annual+Goalkeepers+campaign), the foundation also announced the winners of three additional Goalkeepers
Global Goals Awards.
"By shining a light on the pandemic's disproportionate impact on women and
girls, former Under-Secretary-General Mlambo-Ngcuka has ensured that global and
local efforts to battle COVID-19 must take into account the acute disparities
they face," said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. "She exemplifies the leadership we need in the fight for gender
equality around the world."
The 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award recognizes a leader who has driven progress on
a global scale toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=2702049568&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsdgs.un.org%2Fgoals&a=Sustainable+Development+Goals). This year's award is being presented to Mlambo-Ngcuka for her unwavering
global leadership on gender equality and continued advocacy to address the
pandemic's disproportionate impact on women and girls. Mlambo-Ngcuka, a former
deputy president of South Africa, has dedicated her life to advancing social
justice and working with civil society organizations. During her tenure as
executive director of UN Women, she led work to strengthen and expand
partnerships with government, male allies, and the media, all in service of
advancing SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls. Mlambo-Ngcuka played a vital role in helping to spearhead and
deliver the Generation Equality Forum (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=3909967274&u=https%3A%2F%2Fforum.generationequality.org%2Fhome&a=Generation+Equality+Forum) in July 2021, which helped mobilize more than $40 billion in commitments from
member states, the private sector, philanthropies, and civil society to drive
transformative change for women and girls around the world.
This year's three additional Goalkeepers Global Goals awards were given to
Fairooz Faizah Beether of Bangladesh, Jenifer Colpas of Colombia, and Satta
Sheriff of Liberia. Each awardee was recognized for their work supporting the
Global Goals in their local communities.
The 2021 Changemaker Award, which celebrates an individual who has inspired
change using personal experience or from a position of leadership, recognizes
Fairooz Faizah Beether of Bangladesh for her work promoting good health and
well-being (SDG 3) (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=3489572305&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.un.org%2Fsustainabledevelopment%2Fhealth%2F&a=SDG+3). Beether is the co-founder of the Moner School (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=2670299306&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fmoner-school%2F&a=Moner+School), an online platform that aims to raise awareness around mental health and ensure equal access to mental health care across the country.
The 2021 Progress Award, which celebrates an individual who supports progress
via a science, technology, digital, or business initiative, recognizes Jenifer
Colpas of Colombia for her work to improve access to clean water and sanitation
Colpas is the co-founder and executive director of Tierra Grata (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=2706689987&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftierragrata.org%2Fen%2Fhome&a=Tierra+Grata),
a social enterprise that develops low-cost, easy-to-install solutions
providing access to clean energy, safe water, and sanitation services to rural
communities in Colombia.
The 2021 Campaign Award, which celebrates a campaign that has raised awareness
or built a community by inspiring action and creating change, recognizes Satta
Sheriff of Liberia for her work to promote gender equality (SDG 5) (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=910496244&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsdgs.un.org%2Fgoals%2Fgoal5&a=SDG+5).
Sheriff is the founder and executive director of Action for Justice and
Human Rights (AJHR) (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=1512333899&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.action4humanrights.org%2F&a=Action+for+Justice+and+Human+Rights), a youth-led NGO founded to advocate and ensure access to justice and respect
for human rights in Liberia, focusing particularly on helping women and girls.
"Disparities everywhere continue to worsen due to the impacts of COVID-19,"
said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "This year,
we are especially honored to recognize four leaders whose work demonstrates
that progress is possible, even in the most difficult of times."
"These award winners show how women are leading the way in coming up with the
innovative solutions needed to rebuild our communities and nations," said Mark
Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "This year's winners
continue to inspire us as they work tirelessly to create a more equal,
resilient, and compassionate world."
The announcement of the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards winners follows last
week's release of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's fifth annual
This year's report, co-authored by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates,
shows that disparities caused by COVID-19 remain stark, and those who have been
hardest hit by the pandemic will be the slowest to recover. Fortunately, amidst
the challenges of the past year, the world stepped up to avert some of the
worst-case scenarios. In the report, the co-chairs highlight the "breathtaking
innovation" that was only possible because of global collaboration, commitment,
and investments over decades. They acknowledge that averting the worst-case
scenarios is commendable, yet they note it's not enough. To ensure a truly
equitable recovery from the pandemic, they call for long-term investments in
health and economies—like the ones that led to the rapid development of the
COVID-19 vaccine—to propel recovery efforts and get the world back on track to
meet the Global Goals.
Biographies, images, and a film of the Goalkeepers Global Goals award winners
can be downloaded at: www.gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/about-event/awards
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In
developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them
the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United
States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest
resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and
life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman,
under the direction of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.
About Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3292668-1&h=1745673630&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gatesfoundation.org%2Fgoalkeepers%2F&a=Goalkeepers) is the foundation's campaign to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable
Development Goals (Global Goals). By sharing stories and data behind the Global
Goals through an annual report, we hope to inspire a new generation of
leaders—Goalkeepers who raise awareness of progress, hold their leaders
accountable, and drive action to achieve the Global Goals.
About the Global Goals
On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 193
world leaders committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).
These are a series of ambitious objectives and targets to achieve three
extraordinary things by 2030: end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and
fix climate change.
Project Everyone, co-creators of Goalkeepers, was founded by writer, director,
and SDG Advocate Richard Curtis with the ambition to help achieve the Global
Goals through raising awareness, holding leaders accountable, and driving
action. Find out more at www.project-everyone.org.
Media Contact: media@gatesfoundation.org
SOURCE: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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