Vice President Leni Robredo received the “Most Influential Filipina of the World” award during the 13th Filipina Global Leadership Summit held August 21 to 24 in Cebu City. The award was conferred to VP Leni by the Filipina Women’s Network, the non-government organization that organized the summit.
The FWN is also celebrating its 13th year, having been established by founder and CEO Marily Mondejar in San Francisco California. The organization now has chapters all over the world, most of which sent delegations to attend the summit.
VP Leni Robredo: A Woman of Global Influence
According to the Philippine Star, FWN described the award she received under the “Nicole” category which recognizes Filipino women “whose words, actions and activism inspire others to act and revolutionize society’s way of understanding traditional beliefs and customs.” It also recognizes how these actions leave behind “a Filipino global imprint.”
Woman Empowerment is One of Her Priorities
On the third day of the summit, VP Leni delivered her keynote speech. She called on FWN members to help her push the empowerment of women so that real change can happen in society. She added that the modern Filipina is “more powerful, more accomplished, more emphatic and more socially aware.” She also said that each Filipina had the potential to become heroes, instead of trying to “rule the world.
In her speech, she also lined up the other four areas that her office will prioritize, which are education, hunger and food security, public health and rural development. Despite her office’s lack of funds, she promised that she will take steps to “convene and inspire” and “maximize our joint resources” to fill the much-needed gaps in these priority areas.
She joined the other awardees at an evening gala, who came from the Philippines, as well as Australia, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the United States, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.