Inspiring ‘Mindanawomen’

SIX women were recognized during the first-ever Mindanao Women Development Awards of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) on March 22, 2024, at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Lanang, Davao City. 

Maria Belen S. Acosta, chairperson of MinDA, said in her speech that the idea of recognizing the efforts of women arose when they saw that several women have greatly contributed to promoting change in Mindanao “without any sort of recognition.” She said that through this program, they want to champion equality, inclusivity, and empowerment for everyone.

“We endeavor for Mindanawon women to constantly feel appreciated, valued, included, not only just through this award but in every work that we do in the government. More importantly, we want to create spaces where these women can position, define, and express themselves freely. I’ve met countless inspiring women throughout our work in MinDa and I can only hope we can honor and thank each one of them in one way or another,” she said.

In a media interview, Acosta expressed that the original plan was to pick only one woman so they needed to judge all six women who applied or were nominated for the awards. However, all the women were recognized since all of them were exemplary.

“So far yung six na nominees ginawa naming awardees kasi may mga nag-pledge na (So far the six nominees, we made them all awardees because there are pledges for the women’s initiatives),” she said.

She added that MinDA will help fund their initiatives and assist them in seeking for funders like non-government organizations (NGOs) and national government agencies (NGAs) since most of these women have difficulty finding the means to make their projects a reality.