The Carla Atzema Soroptimist Prize (CAS Prize) celebrates outstanding journalistic contributions related to female empowerment. Anyone who has made a remarkable impact by putting this subject on the map in the media can nominate themselves for one of the prizes.
Beginning in 2020, this prize was named after Carla Atzeda who donated her estate to the Soroptimist Women’s Fund to support Soroptimist International’s goals. Since then, the Dutch Soroptimists have held biennial prizes to award participants who:
- Advance the position of women, their rights, and their economic independence.
- Promote awareness of issues related to women.
- Demonstrate an impact through their work.
The award ceremony and associated publicity are designed to increase the visibility of Soroptimist International and its values. As a result of additional sponsorships in 2022, three prizes were made possible:
- A Main Prize of € 25,000 – with the winner chosen by a jury.
- A Public Prize of € 5,000 – with the winner chosen through online voting by the public.
- A Young Talent prize of € 2,500 – with the winner chosen by a jury.
The jury consisted of well-known women and men from the Netherlands and Belgium, who represent diverse fields in the media and human rights. They reviewed applications from a wide range of media produced during the past two years including books, magazines, television, radio, photography, film, blogs, vlogs, and the internet in general.
On April 7th, 2022, the Main Prize was awarded to the collaborative efforts of journalists Coen van de Ven and Karlijn Saris, as well as researchers Sahra Mohamed and Joris Veerbeek. Their newspaper article entitled ‘Misogyny as a political weapon’, was published shortly before an election period. This powerful piece sheds light on a topic female politicians rarely talk about: the hate and sexism they encounter in the media. Through their analysis of thousands of statements on social media, their work painted a disconcerting picture of what female politicians endure. As a result of their publication, more women began to speak out against sexist behaviour.
The Young Talent Prize was awarded to ‘Damn Honey,’ a project spearheaded by Marie Lotte Hagen and Nydia van Voorthuizen. Their journey to fame began in 2018 with their ‘Damn Honey’ pamphlet, with their podcast of the same name following soon after. Their feminist platform has now grown into one of the largest in the Netherlands.
Anne Groenen and Triene-Mie Le Compte won the Public Prize for their book ‘Als liefde overleven wordt’ (When Love Becomes Survival) which follows the true story of Titi, who experiences fatal intimate partner violence. The book is aimed at survivors, bystanders and professionals and provides information to help put a stop to this form of violence against women.
During the award ceremony, the podium was given to speakers from important women’s organisations, including Women Inc., as well as female musicians and past CAS prize winners. Among the attendees were representatives from Soroptimist International of Europe Belgium and the Netherlands.
Building on its success, the CAS Prize will continue to be awarded in 2024 and 2026.
Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgwqj374qJM
https://www.instagram.com/ca.soroptimistprijs/?hl=fr
https://www.facebook.com/profile/100067864924261/search/?q=Carla%20Atzema