OSCE presents White Ribbon awards to four diplomats for promoting gender equality

Four OSCE diplomats received the OSCE’s White Ribbon award for their work promoting gender equality. The awards went to Annika Söder (Sweden), Marina Wyss (Switzerland), Fiel Vanthemsche (Belgium) and Sebastian Gahnström (Finland). The winners were announced in Vienna on 9 December and the awards were handed over at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 16 December 2021. 

Annika Söder, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, was honoured as a role model for women in conflict resolution. She continuously works on involving women and mainstreaming gender at all levels of the Geneva International Discussions and in the field in Georgia.  

Marina Wyss, Deputy Head of Mission for Security Policy Issues in the Swiss delegation to the OSCE, was instrumental in establishing and leading the "Women in the First Dimension" network.  She was recognized for her effort to increase the number of women working in the first dimension and build their capacity through networking and a tailor-made mentoring programme, which she initiated. 

Fiel Vanthemsche of Belgium has been an outspoken advocate for the need to push for more action on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and combating violence against women. He succeeded in getting 53 participating States to support a statement on WPS and organized the event “How to Engage Men and Boys in the Fight to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls” for members of OSCE delegations. 

Sebastian Gahnström of Finland received the award in recognition of his engagement in advancing the OSCE’s work on combating and preventing violence against women and girls. He helped create the Eliminating Violence Against Women Group of Friends and took the lead in organizing an event for OSCE delegations entitled “The Shadow Pandemic: Fighting Against the Global Increase in Domestic Violence. A Major Symptom of the Covid-19 Pandemic”.  

The White Ribbon awards are presented annually to male or female OSCE delegates from participating States or Partners for Co-operation who have used their position to advocate for gender equality and taken steps to advance women’s empowerment. For the first time this year, the award was opened up to all members of OSCE delegations and winners were chosen by a committee consisting of high-level representatives of the OSCE MenEngage Network, the Chairpersonship, the Women Ambassadors Network, Women in the First Dimension, and the Secretariat.