CAMFED Chief Executive Officer Lucy Lake and CAMFED Association Executive Adviser Fiona Mavhinga at the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony. (Image: FPA)
Last week, CAMFED Chief Executive Officer Lucy Lake and CAMFED Association Executive Adviser Fiona Mavhinga attended several days of celebratory events to mark the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards (often referred to as “Spain’s Nobel Prize”). These culminated on Friday evening with an awards ceremony where the laureates—Gloria Steinem, Marina Abramović, Amartya Sen, Emmanuel Carrère, Teresa Perales, a group of prominent COVID-19 vaccine researchers, José Andrés and CAMFED—were addressed by His Majesty The King of Spain and Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias.
Discovering you –through your work and lives– is something that has inspired me all the more to receive instruction and to study. You project onto us, the youngest members of society, the certainty that we also have a lot to contribute, that we can be important and show that we are responsible to imagine a more sustainable, fairer, better future for us all.
Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias speaking at the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony on October 22nd, 2021
The importance of education and of actively supporting women’s leadership were consistent themes, both in the Princess’ words and in the cultural events of the week.
At a special dialog chaired by Emma Álvarez, head of the La Ería state secondary school and a teacher for Spain’s Institute for Peace and Cooperation Development, Fiona and Lucy met with students from several local schools. They had completed their own projects about CAMFED’s Learner Guide Program, which sees young women in rural Africa return to their former schools as mentors and role models, supporting students to be well and do well. To reflect this, the Spanish students were asked to uncover the needs and concerns of their younger peers and draw up an action plan. On seeing their presentations Fiona commented that she was “moved by the innovation, understanding and creativity of the young people we interacted with.”
Sneak a peak at a student projectFurther highlights included in-depth interviews and imaginative installations to shed new light on CAMFED’s unique model.
A feature on Gloria Steinem, laureate of the Princess of Asturias Communication and Humanities Award, and CAMFED, laureate of the International Cooperation Award, draws parallels between two global, grassroots movements for gender equality.
Lucy attended an exclusive viewing of the Princess of Asturias Foundation’s breathtaking installation “Sylva”, in which two robots nurture plants based on real-time impact data from CAMFED’s work, thanks to an algorithm.
Fiona shared her background as one of the first girls supported by CAMFED after poverty threatened to push her out of school. She offered insight into how “education brings hope, gives you the power to dream and plan for the future”.
All of the events, exhibitions, conversations and celebrations made for an unforgettable week, which engaged the entire Spanish nation, as well as citizens around the globe, in a truly meaningful cultural occasion and reflection on our shared humanity.
Read more of the media coverage:
20 minutos – an in-depth interview with Fiona Mavhinga
Europa Press – a report following the CAMFED press conference with Fiona Mavhinga and Lucy Lake
RTPA – a television interview with Lucy Lake on the importance of girls’ education globally
El Pais – read His Majesty’s words about CAMFED from the Princess of Asturias Awards Ceremony
La Voz de Asturias – The President of the Spanish Red Cross congratulates CAMFED
Laura Saunders £78.1
Erin Birmingham $58.2
Helen Harvey £26.2
Deborh Case $500
Aimee Miller $158
Lucinda Morrisey $158
Emily Reardon $1052
susan. J Feingold $26.6
Jacqueline Davis $158
Susan Strome $4000
Angela Thompson £80
Paul George $158
Benjamin Woodbridge $400
Jacquelyn Sullivan $1262
Lenore Denise Williams $3000
