Shaken Baby Syndrome Campaigner, ”Precycling” retailer & Social Impact champion win Women Award

June 16, 2011 - PRLog -- The Women's Social Leadership Awards, founded in 2007, have 3 categories. They were held in London on Tuesday 14th June, in partnership with giant auditing firm Ernst and Young.

They recognise the achievements of women using innovative and bold solutions to solve social and environmental issues.

The Campaigner of the Year award was won by Rioch Edwards Brown, founder of the 5 Percenters (UK).

Rioch’s campaign stands for the 1 in 20 cases routinely misdiagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).

Over 14 years, without pay or funding, Rioch has collected an incredible amount of testimonies, case-studies, expert medical evidence, helping 4000 families in the UK and worldwide to understand the issue and defend themselves. 150 lawyers have used her data, and she has discovered 9 other health conditions that mimic child abuse.

The Leader in the Workplace award was won by Allie Hoffman, from the Pari Project (Cambodia).

Allie set up the Pari Project at 24 because she realised there was a huge discord between what donors and funders were funding and what grassroots humanitarian organisations were ready to deliver.

Based in Cambodia and now expanding in Africa, the Pari Project enables over 30 NGOs to improve their systems, their standards, and grow their social impact. Allie Hoffman also encourages donors to be social investors, not just cash cows.

The Social Business Leader of the Year prize was taken home by Catherine Conway who founded Unpackaged.

Catherine simply brings about common sense and sustainable behaviour in her London retail Unpackaged. She proves that everybody can do their bit towards the huge waste and packaging issue. Research shows that the act of reusing and refilling products made locally keeps money in local economies. Each household can save up to £470 per annum by not spending on packaging, and around £480 per year, by buying only the food they need rather than wasting it. We need more of Unpackaged shops in each community.

The winners were supported by bold speakers, Coco-de-Mer founder and social activist Sam Roddick, research and economist Dr Rebecca Harding, Impetus Trust CEO Daniela Barone Soares, and Ernst and Young’s Head of Corporate Responsibility Nicky Major.

The winners will receive mentoring by Ernst and Young, a business coaching package, and a continuous access to relevant resources to pursue their ventures.

Servane Mouazan, director of Ogunte and founder of the Awards said: “I am glad to count Rioch, Catherine and Allie among our winners this year as they prove that with sheer determination, generosity, and intelligent campaigning, you can influence people’s behaviour and turn lives around. Some women tend to think that pushing boundaries the way they do is just normal and tend to skip recognition. Let’s break the mould! Their ventures are borne out of personal experiences, sometimes painful and isolating. These awards contribute to making these women more visible and show mainstream audiences how inspiring and impactful they are.”

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1- Contact for further information Servane Mouazan, CEO. servane@ogunte.com | 0044 (0)7932982379. http://www.ogunte.com twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ogunte

2- Ogunte is a women-focused social innovations development company, launched in 2001, that helps women with socially bold, innovative and robust ideas to lead the social economy. Founder Servane Mouazan is a Social Innovator Developer who has impacted on over 200,000 individual and organisations globally with social ventures coaching, strategic networking and business development tools.

3- More on Rioch Edwards Brown 5 Percenters: http://www.sbs5.dircon.co.uk

More on Allie Hoffman The Pari Project http://thepariproject.com/

More on Catherine Conway Unpackaged. http://www.beunpackaged.com

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OGUNTE develop & connect women social innovators, women who have bold, innovative & robust ideas to solve social and environmental issues.
We provide business development, networking, strategic advice and recommendation on sustainable development, investment opportunities, and Women's Social Leadership Awards.