This Saturday, May 8, 2021, PLACE FOR AFRICA proceeded in its premises located in Cotonou, to the awarding of their prizes to the winners of the virtual collage competition which saw the participation of thirteen challengers, all young women involved in women’s movements or organizations.
At the end of the competition, six of them won the three prizes at stake.
In addition, the ceremony included a series of activities. The president of Meine Welt and European coordinator of PLACE FOR AFRICA, Mrs. Nicole Amoussou, in her welcoming remarks, congratulated the winners for their various collages that reflect their commitment to the chosen collage theme. It should be noted that the geographical distance separating her from Cotonou did not prevent her from following the award ceremony from a distance. The practical conduct of the ceremony was led by the Africa Coordinator of PLACE FOR AFRICA, Mr. Fabrice Banon in his address to the audience made the genesis of the collage competition and the objectives pursued. The objective of this competition was to bring out innovative and original ideas to denounce or raise awareness on inequalities, violence and discrimination against women in their daily lives. It followed the workshop commemorating the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day on the theme of “Women, Commitment and the Future”, which gave rise to the idea of the collage. He congratulated the winners of the collage and urged them to continue their efforts to transform the relationships of inequality and discrimination into a force of equality and social equity between men and women for a better life together. He insisted that the contribution of heroines to this challenge could not be more decisive and encouraged them not to let anything weaken them. “Obviously, I am very confident of your ability to innovate and hope that you will be able to keep the flame of female leadership alive and transforming the lives of young women in your communities,” he said, concluding his speech to a standing ovation from the participants.
Following the Africa Coordinator of PLACE, the spokesperson of the laureates, Mrs. Roseline GNANHA delivered the speech of thanks of her peers to PLACE while reiterating their commitment to remain ambassadors for the promotion and defence of women’s rights against all discrimination, violation, violence, inequalities and injustices of which they are often victims.
After the various speeches, a short presentation of the biographies of the laureates and their collage works allowed the audience to get to know them better and thus initiate the awarding of the prizes followed by a family photo. This symbolic ceremony ended in a friendly atmosphere of exchange and announced the prospects of future initiatives from both PLACE and the (in)visible heroines in the spotlight.
Text from : Abdoul BOUKARI