Mexico, Canada, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic celebrated the transformative social, economic, and political achievements of 12 remarkable Egyptian women at the 2024 edition of the “Champions of Change” awards ceremony. The event was hosted at the residence of the newly named Mexican Ambassador to Cairo Leonora Rueda on Wednesday. The ceremony was attended by Louis Dumas, Canada’s ambassador; Ivan Jukl, the Czech Republic’s ambassador; Raphaël Martin de Lagarde, minister counselor and deputy head of mission at France embassy; Frank Hartmann, Germany’s ambassador; and Håkan Emsgård, Sweden’s ambassador. The “Champions of Change” awards were established to recognize the contributions and efforts of Egyptian gender equality pioneers in building a stronger Egypt in 2020. The awards ceremony takes place in conjunction with the celebration of International and Egyptian Women’s Day. The following 12 awardees were honored in 2024.

Manal Abdel-Moneim: She is an entrepreneur with ventures in FMCG, renewable energy, waste management, and agribusiness. She empowers rural women by teaching literacy and supporting their businesses in food, farming, and crafts, aiming for their financial independence and access to formal finance. Namees Arnous: She is the founder of E7kky Network, a media, PR, and communication company, with a focus on women empowerment and gender equality. Soraya Bahgat, TAKREEM’s Foundation selection board member; is a human rights activist and founder of Tahrir Bodyguard, which focuses on protecting Egyptian female protestors and combating sexual harassment. She is also involved with the Girl Generation, striving to end female genital mutilation in Africa (FGM) in one generation. Salma El-Lakany: She is the founder of VeryNile Shop, an innovation hub that creates up-cycled products in collaboration with women living by the Nile with a human-centric approach. Mai Farid: She is the CEO of the Universal Health Insurance Authority and assistant minister of finance for economic justice and heads the reform of the Universal Health Insurance, which has been supported since 2019 by France, alongside other donors. In addition to many others. 

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