On April 26, 2021, Rapunzel and IFOAM Organics International presented the sixth annual One World Award (OWA). The OWA honors people, projects, initiatives and ideas with ecological, social and economic impulses for improvement. The online award ceremony was broadcast from Legau, Germany. Guest of honor at the award ceremony was the German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Müller, who recognized the winners for making the world better and more just.
The OWA Jury Coordinator and Chairman is Berward Geier, emcee of the event. Other members of the jury include Dr. Vandana Shiva (India), Dr. Hans Harren (Switzerland/USA) and Julia Lernoud (Argentina).
Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda has been honored as one of the 5 winning projects, together with the Arava Institute (Israel), Global Ecovillage Network (International/ Scotland/ Germany), Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania, Organic Denmark, and Tomoko and Toshinori Kaneko of Japan.
One World Award jury member, Vandana Shiva. Indian physicist, philosopher and writer. Activist for ecofeminism.
The winners
- Winner of the OWA Grand Prize: The NGO Organic Denmark is paving the way towards 100% organic food production in Denmark. The prize was awarded to Paul Holmbeck and Helle Borup Friberg.
- The winners of the OWA Lifetime Achievement Award are Tomoko and Yoshinori Kaneko of Japan. These organic pioneers established the first organic village in Japan.
- Winners of the OWA: Eliza Mayo and Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed provide an example of peace and conservation through education at Arvada Institute (Israel).
- Winners of the OWA: Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda (México): Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo unstoppable advocate for the conservation of the Sierra Gorda region, which serves as a model for the rest of the country.
Winners of the OWA: The Global Ecovillage Network (International/Scotland/Germany), Kosha Joubert and Sonita Mbah Neh were and are instrumental in the impressive development of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN).
Yoshinori and Tomoko Kaneko, winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Japan (Ogawa)
In March of 2020, Benward Geier, the former Managing Director of IFOAM, visited Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda to do an on-site evaluation. He visited each of the programs in the field to speak with our team and beneficiaries.
“Despite the difficulties, Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda is an example for the world of what passion, work and perseverance can accomplish,” said jury member Julia Lernoud. “This is a recognition of eco- feminism.“
Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda I.A.P. (GESG) is a model of entrepreneurship and social participation in the Sierra Gorda, Mexico, where we correlate economic development with biodiversity conservation. Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda leads a movement of civil society organizations that form the Alliance for the Conservation of the Sierra Gorda. Together we promote this living laboratory of best cultural practices for our planet with interdisciplinary teams.
GESG has built a participatory conservation model, bringing together partners from multiple levels, promoting public policies and serving as a strategic planner and source of best practices. We offer training, support and technical services in addition to offering voluntary carbon offsets through the platform carbonneutralplanet.org
Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda is grateful for this recognition and invites you to visit the official page of Rapunzel for more information about the prize and other global encouragers at Invitation to the One World Award ceremony (rapunzel.de) and at https://www.one-world-award.com/martha-isabel-ruiz-corzo.html
To watch the award ceremony go to https://youtu.be/NPmaDjJR8SM.
