How to put the 15th anniversary of the DVF Awards into words? Attending the annual edition of the awards, conceived by fashion designer and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, arouses a sense of responsibility. There's an urge to spread the word about this year’s DVF Leadership Awards honorees and their fights for worldwide peace, climate justice, equality and safety for women, and humane political leadership.
Coinciding with the 60th Art Biennale and the 81st Venice Film Festival, the awards were held last night at Tese Cinquecentesche (Arsenale, Venice) honoring former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern; co-founder of Women Wage Peace, Yael Admi; co-founder and director of Women of the Sun, Reem Hajajreh; climate justice activist and co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative, Xiye Bastida; reproductive rights advocate and president of SVS Donna Help Donna, Alessandra Kustermann; and founder of the Graça Machel Trust and the Foundation for Community Development, Graça Machel, for a lifetime dedicated to improving the lives of women and children.
Paola Cortellesi, Gayle King, Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli, and Talita von Fürstenberg introduced the honorees, with Oprah Winfrey making her event debut in support of Diane von Furstenberg and “her vision of celebrating, honoring, and connecting her favorite women from all over the world.” Women who, as Winfrey mentioned when presenting the last award of the night to Machel, “have become the driven force of their own transformation.”
From their homes around the world, the night’s honorees have been working tirelessly to help their communities. “My work has been guided by the value of reciprocity, the idea of always giving back because the earth gives us so much, and we should not take that for granted,” shared 22-year-old Bastida. “In the indigenous communities, we are storytellers, we sit around the fire and we learn from the wisdom of the elders, but they also learn from the wisdom of the youth. Because the youths are the closest to the beginning of life, which means there are certain things that we know when we are young.”
While on stage, Ardern, who served her country from 2017 until 2023, reinforced her commitment to humane leadership. “I am writing and doing my best to share some of my previous experiences, not because I have all the answers or because I was a perfect leader—I was not—but because I simply believe the traits that we teach our children are the traits that we should expect in our political leaders: empathy, kindness, generosity, and curiosity.”
Pivotal moments of the night included a speech from Hajajreh and Admi, which ended with a standing ovation led by Winfrey. “We want to be part of the negotiation process for a peaceful resolution in the Israel-Palestine conflict and implement a solution on women's peace and security. This is an invitation from Yael and me—we invite you to join us,” said Hajajreh. “We have a historical opportunity to make sure this terrible war is the last war,” added Admi. “There are not two sides of this conflict. There is only one side: mothers who want to raise children for life, not for death.”
The final speech of the night before a delightful dinner brought illustrious words from Machel: “It is not the role of women. It is the right of women. It is women that participate. No, we don’t participate—we lead, we drive the transformation… Being a woman is the best gift to humanity, because we can transform, we can change, we can bring a brighter future for everyone.”
In the past 15 years, Diane von Furstenberg and her foundation have amplified the voices of women from more than 30 countries by granting each honoree $100,000 for their nonprofit organizations. Closing out the night, von Furstenberg also thanked Vital Voices (their partnership began in 2023) and the Melinda Gates Foundation for providing additional grants for five past honorees who continue their important work: Susan Burton, Nadia Murad, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, Maria Pacheco, and Veronika Scott.
“I am incredibly emotional. I have never felt so much energy. Tonight we are celebrating women who are truly extraordinary, magical women. Women who have demonstrated courage, strength, compassion, dignity and leadership,” concluded von Furstenberg.
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