French tea house Janat Paris and Ayala Malls honored 12 outstanding Filipina leaders and innovators at the first-ever Women of Eiffel Tower Awards last Jan. 31, 2018 at the Greenbelt Park. The Women of Eiffel Tower Awards aims to honor women who have made indelible marks on their respective fields.
SALt Lamps inventor Aisa Mejino and Save Philippine Seas co-founder Anna Oposa received the award in the Environment & Ecology category, while ICanServe Foundation founder Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala was honored for her contributions to the fight against breast cancer with the award in the Health & Social category.
The recipients of the award in the Education category were MovEd and Habitat for Humanity Youth Council founder Alexandra Eduque and Teach for the Philippines co-founder and CEO Clarissa Delgado. Paloma Zobel Urquijo was given the award in the Retail category for her work in local weaving-based clothing brand PioPio. LANAI founders Bianca Zobel Warns, Natalia Zobel and Maria Parsons were honored in the same category.
Holy Carabao’s Hindy Weber-Tantoco took home the award in the Food & Beverage category, while social entrepreneur Erika Valerie Ng Wong of Karabella received the award in the Young Entrepreneur category.
“More than a recognition, I think it’s a happy validation that people are starting to truly believe in the mission to do something for the greater good,” awardee Alexandra Eduque says of the recently received honor. “More than the award, it’s the honor of being alongside these women is the bigger shock. A lot of them are friends that I’ve worked with many times and it’s nice to be on the same roster as people that you look up to.”
The awards were supported by the French Embassy, the Last Samurai Women and Janat Paris’ Femme du Monde Foundation, which aims to “create a world where women can live a better life through the improvement of working and life environment.”
“Women are the backbone of a country and reflect the strength of it. In this endeavor, French and Filipino women come together to create a culture of freedom and support for women who are hesitant to climb the steps (of success) by helping them see their future without a glass ceiling,” says Janat Paris International President Bejit Dores.
