The first Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment has been awarded to the Irida Women’s Center in Greece, a grassroots NGO which works for positive change in the lives of women experiencing poverty, social exclusion and gender-based violence.
The 60,000-euro annual prize, awarded jointly by PACE and the Government of Iceland, honours outstanding initiatives to promote the empowerment of women in all their diversity, in Europe and beyond. It is named after Iceland’s former President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first woman in the world to be elected as a head of state.
Irida began its activity during the migration crisis in 2016, providing emergency support and creating safe spaces for women and children from over 50 countries. Accepting the award, Irida’s head of fundraising and communication Lydia Siapardani said the women her organisation serves and supports were “the true heroes” of this journey, adding: “Your story, courage and resilience are a daily source of inspiration.”
There were two runners-up for the Prize, the Feminoteka Foundation from Poland which works to support women survivors of gender-based violence, and Mexican women’s activist Pascuala López López, who has faced threats from armed groups for her work to transform the lives of indigenous women in Chiapas. Each received diplomas during the ceremony.
A six-member selection panel for the Prize, chaired by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, considered more than 120 nominations from around the world. Making the awards, Mr Rousopoulos cited a line by Icelandic poet Hulda which appears at the entrance of the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir museum in Reykjavik: Mother Grey Goose, lend me wings, so that I may fly, south across the sea. “I see this as an exhortation for young women to explore the world and make an impact on it, precisely as Vigdís did all her life,” he said.
Icelandic President Guðni Thorlacius Jòhannesson, addressing the ceremony, said: “I am honoured as an Icelander, and as a global citizen, to see this award as a recognition of a job well done, and an encouragement to others to follow in the footsteps of our beloved Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.”
Iceland’s Minister of Social Affairs and the Labour Market Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson recalled Vígdis’s profound impact on his country, but added that much still needed to be done to achieve full gender equality around the world: “Today we celebrate, today we feel proud. But tomorrow we continue the fight.”
The Vígdis Prize was launched in Reykjavik in May 2023 in the presence of Vígdis herself, who was following today’s ceremony from Reykjavik.
Website of the Irida Women’s Center
Promotional video on the Prize
