Young Women Recognized Internationally For Excellence In Activism, Advocacy And Service

OAK BROOK, Ill., June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zonta International recently presented 32 young women from 17 countries with its Young Women in Public Affairs (YWPA) Award for the academic year 2021-2022. Chosen from nearly 600 applicants worldwide, these young women have demonstrated a commitment to volunteerism and dedication to empowering women and girls through service and advocacy.

Only 25.5% of all national parliamentarians were female (as of April 1), according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. To encourage more women to join the field of public service, which is necessary for societies around the world to progress, Zonta International's YWPA Award recognizes 16-19-year-old young women across the globe for their outstanding leadership and dedication to public service and civic causes. This year's awardees are addressing racial and gender inequality, gender-based violence, climate change and sustainability, bullying, gun violence, disability rights and more.

Ten international YWPA Awardees were awarded US$6,500, while 22 district and region recipients received US$1,500 to be used to support their continued service or their academic endeavors.

"I am very impressed with the caliber of recipients of this award," said Janet Hope, Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs Award Committee chairman from New Zealand. "These are our young women leaders of the future who are already making positive changes and empowering women and girls in their local communities."

2021 YWPA Award International Recipients:

• Eloise Amirtharajah, Australia
• Morgan Guess, USA
• Sejal Gupta, USA
• Carolyn Huang, Canada
• Leila Johnson, USA
• Rachel Lim, Canada
• Olivia O'Connell, USA
• Tehani Chandrasena Perera, USA/Sri Lanka
• Nikoline Prehn, Denmark
• Devangana Rana, India

District/Region Recipients:

• Etonam Bassan, Togo
• Andie Bonilla, Uruguay
• Lucy Boyne, Canada
• Alejandra Castellanos, USA
• Golzar Falatoon-Zadeh, Germany
• Andrea Frederick, Australia
• Stella Hofmann, Germany
• Carmen Holdaway, New Zealand
• Jayde Jensen, Australia
• Ava Johnson, USA
• Ada-Emilia Koskinen, Finland
• Chloe Lau, Hong Kong/Canada
• Esperanza Lee, USA
• Chen Liang, China, PR
• Yun-Tzu Lin , Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Annick Muselaers, Netherlands
• Louna Pierron, France
• Sarah Schöps, Germany
• Elyse Thomas, USA
• Kai-Yuan Tsung, Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Angelina Xu  , USA
• Chaewon Yoon, South Korea

The YWPA Award was established in 1990. Since then, Zonta has given 1,013 awards, totaling more than US$1.2 million, through donations made to the Zonta Foundation for Women.

More information about the YWPA Award, including the 2022 application, can be found at zonta.org/YWPAAward.

Zonta International (zonta.org) is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. In 1919, a small group of founders in Buffalo, New York, had a vision to help all women realize greater equality. Today, more than 28,000 members in 63 countries work together to make gender equality a worldwide reality for women and girls. Since 1923, Zonta International has provided more than US$59 million to empower women and girls and expand their access to education, health care, economic opportunities and safe living conditions.

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SOURCE Zonta International