A press release from Asia Initiatives on award recipients at the 25th Anniversary Gala in New York in September 2024:
8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Present Awards at Asia
Initiatives’ 25th Anniversary Gala in New York on September 25, 2024
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon continues his mission of promoting women’s empowerment and Sustainable Development Goals beyond his tenure at the United Nations.
New York, NY: On September 25th, Asia Initiatives, an international nonprofit organization that leverages social capital to promote sustainable development, will host its 25th Annual Gala at Gotham Hall in New York. During the event, the 8th United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will present the Ban Ki-moon Award to Chandrika Tandon, Lekha Singh, Maria Wilhelm, and Dr. Joe Romm.
Mr. Ban is a long-time supporter of Asia Initiatives, saying “I am pleased to see that Asia Initiatives is providing women the tools of empowerment, including education, healthcare, upskilling, microcredit and environmental sustainability, through the organization’s innovative community currency called Social Capital Credits.”
Mr. Ban has been instrumental in emphasizing the importance of empowering women as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped launch during his tenure at the UN. He continues this work through the Ban Ki-moon Center for Global Citizens, with offices
in Vienna, Seoul, and New York.
This year, the Ban Ki-moon Award, which was originally focused solely on women’s empowerment, has been expanded to also recognize significant contributions in environmental leadership and humanitarian work. The four recipients of this year’s Ban Ki-moon Award have made remarkable advancements in these areas:
Chandrika Tandon, a global business leader, Grammy-nominated musician, and dedicated humanitarian, is being honored with the Ban Ki-moon Award for her outstanding contributions to humanitarian work. She is the founder and chair of Tandon Capital Associates and the Krishnamurthy Tandon Foundation, serves as Chair of NYU Tandon School of Engineering, is a
Trustee of NYU Langone Health, and a member of the President’s Global Council at NYU. Additionally, Tandon founded and supports the Boyd-Tandon School of Business at Madras Christian College in Tamil Nadu, India. Her personal mission is to elevate human happiness
through music and education.
Lekha Singh will receive the Ban Ki-moon Award for Women’s Empowerment. Singh is a renowned photographer, filmmaker, and humanitarian, celebrated for her work highlighting social issues and capturing the resilience of people in conflict zones and marginalized
communities. Her photography has been exhibited worldwide, drawing attention to critical issues and inspiring change through compelling visual narratives. Singh has executive produced more than 15 films, including the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning The Square. In 2000,
she founded Aidmatrix, mobilizing over $1.5 billion in aid annually and collaborating with 35,000 charities across five continents, ultimately feeding over 25 million people each year. Her latest exhibition, Women Carry the World, has been showcased at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, as well as in museums across Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Portugal, and at the European
Parliament in Belgium.
Maria Wilhelm will be honored with the Ban Ki-moon Award for Environmental Leadership. Wilhelm is a documentary producer and business leader. Along with James Cameron, Wilhelm co-chairs LIGHTSTORM, which encompasses LIGHTSTORM EARTH, a documentary unit dedicated to projects that address climate change, celebrate oceans, and champion nature. Productions include the noted The Game Changers, and the Emmy Award-winning Years of Living Dangerously and Secrets of the Whales. She is the Executive Director of the Avatar Alliance Foundation, a vice-chair at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a trustee of the
African Wildlife Foundation, a board member of the TBA21 Foundation, and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Dr. Joe Romm is also receiving the Ban Ki-moon Award for Environmental Leadership. Romm has an MIT physics Ph.D. and is a Senior Research Fellow at the UPenn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media where he researches climate solutions. Romm has served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, overseeing a $1 billion budget for climate solutions. In 2009, Rolling Stone named Romm one of 100 “People Who Are Changing America” and Time named him “The Web’s most influential climate-change blogger.” Romm is the author of 11 books and is currently working on the 20th-anniversary edition of The
Hype About Hydrogen. Romm’s TEDx talk is “The surprising truth about solving climate change.” Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman said, “I have learned a lot of what I know about energy economics from Joe Romm.”
Past recipients of the Ban Ki-moon Award for Women’s Empowerment have included Dr. Jane Goodall, Chelsea Clinton, Cecile Richards, Paul Polman, Kathy Matsui, and Gloria Steinem.
Dr. Geeta Mehta, co-founder of Asia Initiatives, explains that this annual event aims to celebrate the breakthrough accomplishments of thought leaders and the hard work, hope, and tenacity of thousands of women and their families who participate in our projects.
Registration and further details on our 25th Anniversary Gala can be found here.
For further information, please contact Program Associate Emma Gardephe at emma.g@asiainitiatives.org. Asia Initiatives (www.asiainitiatives.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in New York.
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