MANILA, Philippines – Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa received the Global Trailblazer Award at the Vital Voices Annual Global Leadership Awards held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Thursday, May 30.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th US secretary of state, presented the award for Ressa.
“Maria focuses critical attention on the breakdown of our global information ecosystem and how communities of action can hold the line to protect democracy,” Vital Voices said.
The Annual Global Leadership Awards also paid tribute to exemplary women, including Lifetime of Leadership award recipient Hilda Heine, president of the Marshall Islands, for her work on combatting climate change; Pan-African feminist and diplomat Aya Chebbi, who gained recognition for using her voice during the Tunisian Revolution; Slovenian activist Nika Kovač, for building coalitions to transform legal precedent on gender and economic inequalities in her home country; and Susana Muhamad, the minister of environment and sustainable development of Colombia, for her environmental conservation efforts.
Nonprofit organization SafeCity Global was also given the Collective Action Award. – Rappler.com
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