The International Institute for Peace (IIPT) announced the award winners of its 6th global Celebrating Her awards. The event was held in ITB’s hybrid studio which facilitates simultaneous physical and virtual participation, considerably multiplying the audience numbers.
Instituted as a joint venture between IIPT India and ITB Berlin in 2016, the Awards return after a two-year gap on account of the COVID 19 pandemic. Over 20 outstanding women from across the world have been awarded over the years.
The 2023 winners are Carol Hay for Tourism Resilience, Rupinder Brar for Tourism Leadership and Iaia Pedemonte for Responsible Tourism.
Hay, after heading the Antigua and Barbuda’s UK and European Marketing division, followed by 11 years with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation as Director for UK and Europe, since 2020, has headed her own tourism development agency McKenzie Gayle Limited which advises the Caribbean Tourism Organisation Chapter UK and Europe.
Brar, as Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India devised out-of-box strategies during the pandemic to keep the industry alive. The innovative Dekho Apna Desh campaign of Brar played a huge role in keeping the domestic industry afloat. She collaborated with the Ministry of Home in enabling a pan-India framework for increased safety in tourist spaces and was awarded the Director General Police’s Commendation disc for developing a plan for the same.
Pedemonte is a freelance journalist, the founder of the Gender Responsible Tourism Association (GRT), a team of communication, responsible tourism and gender experts promoting women’s empowerment in tourism.
Ajay Prakash, Founding President of IIPT India and global President Elect of IIPT who joined the event remotely from India said, “The IIPTI Global Awards, Celebrating Her are intended to acknowledge and felicitate exceptional women in the fields of tourism; individuals with a clarity of vision and mission. Individuals who have demonstrated strong personal values and determination to make the difference are worthy of recognition and reward. They need to be felicitated and held up as role models for the younger generation to follow.” He extolled the success of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign which he said has transformed the lives of young women even in remote villages and said that the Celebraing Her awards are aimed at making women agents of change and drivers of growth, not mere beneficiaries of concessions.
The event was conducted on site by Daniela Wagner, Business Development Director of Jacobs Media Group and a Celebrating Her award winner from 2018, and Rika Jean-Francois, CSR Commissioner for ITB Berlin.
Rika Jean-Francois said “The IIPT awards are an integral part of ITB Berlin. They stand for inclusivity and are an important step in the realization of the United Nation’s SDG 5 – Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. We are happy to continue our partnership with IIPT and to see the awards return in a physical form.”
In a written statement, Louis D’Amore, Founding President of IIPT, thanked Rika and ITB Berlin for their continued support, lauded the achievements of IIPT India, led by Kiran Yadav and Ajay Prakash and stated that he would be handing over the baton of global Presidency to Ajay before the end of the year.
