Every year SIE honours the most outstanding projects for each of the five SI Objectives.
This year, the jury, consists of Chair 1st Vice President Sigrid AG, Programme Director Marlène van Bentheim, VP Communications Marie-Claude Bertrand, VP Extension Africa Emine Erdem and Council of Europe Rep Bettina Hahne. The winners of the 2017 Best Practice Awards were announced at the 21st SIE Congress in Florence on 16th July 2017.
Reporting on projects is extremely important for our work at the United Nations and to raise awareness of our organisation. Spreading the word about the enormous efforts to improve the lives of women and girls will help our branding campaign, support extension efforts and further women’s rights in general.
The project achieving the highest overall score by jurors was crowned ‘Project of the Year’. This year that prize went to SI Club Cognac, France, for opening the Suzanne Noël centre for female victims of domestic violence in partnership with the ASERC (Socio-Educational Association of the Cognac region).
The Vocational Training & Employment Support Centre for Women (KIMIM), initiated by SI Club Etiler, Turkey, was selected as the year’s best ‘Educate to Lead’ project for its effort to help unemployed women in an area of Istanbul with particularly high unemployment. Among other things, they introduced vocational training and coaching, thus securing jobs for 20 women.
And now to the winners for each Objective:
Educate: Increase access to formal and non-formal learning opportunities
AFRIpads Foundation – In rural areas of Uganda, irregular school attendance eventually leading to dropping out of school is common among girls who reach the age of puberty. SI Club De Bilt-Biltoven partnered with the AFRIpads Foundation, to provide washable sanitary towels to girls so that they can attend school during their periods.
Empowerment: Improve access to economic empowerment and sustainable opportunities for the employment of women
Inter-Company Crèche – The first ever inter-company crèche in the French overseas department opened its doors in 2016 and now has places for 40 pre-school aged children. This innovative initiative of SI Fort-de France took four years to realize. France, France
Violence: Eliminate violence against women and girls and ensure women’s participation in conflict resolution
Orange Heroes – Supporting the HeForShe Campaign – SI Club Marmara, Turkey, wanted to encourage men and boys to get involved in the efforts to eliminate violence against women. They conducted a project to support UN Women’s HeForShe Campaign.
Health and Food Security: Ensure women and girls have food security and access to the highest attainable standard of healthcare
Safe Water, Sanitation and Green Energy (SWAG) for Kenyan Schoolgirls and Communities – Six Clubs of SI Kenya combined their efforts to improve sanitation and access to safe drinking water in seven schools and communities. The aim was to increase the attendance of girls in schools, thus improving their academic performance and future economic empowerment.
Sustainability: Address the specific needs of women and girls by improving environmental sustainability and mitigating the effects of climate change and natural disasters
Collect and Recycle to Change the World – SI Club Mezitli engaged children to promote recycling in their communities. The idea is that informed children will persuade their parents and neighbours to take action to protect the environment.
A brochure with details of the winners is available on the website or through SIE HQ.
Three runners-up were chosen for each Objective. To find out more, please refer to the brochure.