On April 25, 2024, The Asia Foundation hosted the 2024 Lotus Leadership Awards in New York City. The twelfth Lotus Leadership Awards honored the Bangsamoro Women’s Movement from the Philippines, Visa and Visa Foundation.
Lotus Circle
Bangsamoro Women’s Movement and Visa and Visa Foundation Honored at 2024 Lotus Leadership Awards
Thursday, April 25th, 2024New York, April 25, 2024 — The Asia Foundation today hosted the 2024 Lotus Leadership Awards Gala at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The Leadership Awards are an initiative of the Lotus Circle, a group of generous supporters of The Asia Foundation’s women’s empowerment program, through which outstanding individuals and organizations are recognized for their contributions to women’s and girls’ empowerment and gender equality in Asia and the Pacific. This twelfth Awards Gala honors the Bangsamoro Women’s Movement for their courageous contributions to enduring peace in the Philippines, together with Visa and Visa Foundation, for their support of women’s economic development. Decades of violent conflict in Mindanao shattered lives across all communities, with women especially suffering. The Bangsamoro Women’s Movement played a brave and important role in the struggle for peace and self-determination, pushing for meaningful implementation of the 2014 peace agreement. They successfully advocated for the creation of a new special form of self-governance called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Women leaders have since been appointed to its Parliament and Cabinet, upending gender norms that barred women from positions of political leadership for generations. Visa and Visa Foundation are receiving the award for their commitment to women’s economic empowerment through initiatives that support women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs with digital and financial skills development. Since 2020, this partnership with The Asia Foundation has benefitted thousands of micro, small, and medium business owners and women job seekers in Asia, including in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The Lotus Circle is a vibrant and diverse community of philanthropists that supports The Asia Foundation in its work to strengthen economic, social, and political rights and opportunities for women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. Drawing on the knowledge and networks of its 17 country offices, work in more than 20 countries, and local partners, the Foundation strategically invests Lotus Circle Funds to transform the lives of women, girls, and their communities. The Asia Foundation thanks our generous supporters: Visionary sponsor Visa and Visa Foundation, and Champion sponsors Winnie C. and Michael Feng, Lin and Stephen Jamison,… Read more
The New York Times Covers Local Partner HAkA’s Women Forest Defenders
Thursday, November 30th, 2023November 30, 2023 — The New York Times highlighted The Asia Foundation’s local partner in Indonesia, HAkA, for their efforts to protect, conserve, and restore the Leuser Ecosystem using a women-led forest defender initiative. Through our environmental governance unit, the Foundation supports HAkA to empower women traditionally excluded from forest protection. This support equips them with essential tools to engage in conservation, restoration, and the community governance efforts necessary to uphold the initiative. Even though, most often, women are the ones who feel the direct impact from environmental loss and climate change, there was a lot of resistance when we brought up the idea of creating a women ranger team,” said Rubama, a community conservation officer for the Forest, Nature and Environment Aceh Foundation, which funds the ranger initiative. “Women are often left out and not allowed to do many roles in Aceh, especially at the village level.
Indonesia’s Women Forest Defenders
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023A mountainous tropical forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Leuser Ecosystem is the last place on earth where the elephant, rhino, tiger, and orangutan still roam together in the wild. But the forest is under pressure from poachers, illegal loggers, and miners, who strip the land of resources, causing floods and destroying villages. Now, a band of forest defenders, organized and led by women, is demonstrating that social forestry can stop this destructive exploitation by engaging the communities whose lives are entwined with the health of the forest. Beginning with a handful of women in just one village, now, thanks to The Asia Foundation, there’s an Aceh Women Forest Defenders Movement in 15 villages patrolling and protecting the forest. Their remarkable success is due, in part, to our 2023 Lotus Leadership award honoree HAkA, an Indonesia-based organization that supported the women forest defenders’ efforts to petition the government for the right to protect and manage their forests.
Highlights from the 2023 Lotus Leadership Awards Gala
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023“Our premise is really simple: when you change the lives of women, you can affect an entire society. That’s the power of the multiplier effect,” said Lotus Leadership Awards co-chairs Sydnie Kohara and Elizabeth Keatinge Scheideler. You can become a part of this transformative movement by joining the Lotus Circle. Your contribution supports innovative projects designed to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region, including the Lotus Leadership Rapid Response Fund to address urgent needs.
2023 Lotus Leadership Awards Gala
Thursday, April 13th, 2023The Asia Foundation will host the 2023 Lotus Leadership Awards on April 26 at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The eleventh Lotus Leadership Awards will honor Gloria Steinem, Google.org, HAkA, and the Aceh Women Forest Defenders Movement from Indonesia. The gala will feature special guest Seth Meyers, photographer Nigel Barker and singer-songwriter Katini Yamaoka.