The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York City hosts its Annual Award Ceremony to honor women leaders

NEW YORK - March 11, 2015 - PRLog -- More than 350 people gathered at The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York annual award ceremony recognizing the contributions and talents of women across the globe.

Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York, wrote in his welcome note:
“Women leaders are everywhere you turn throughout the five boroughs, across the country and around the world. The 20 local luminaries that the SOFC in New York has chosen to recognize tonight hail from 20 different countries, reflecting not only the talent and tenacity possessed by all New Yorkers, but also the rich multiculturalism that defines our great and global City. I am pleased to commend the Society’s significant charitable contributions and ongoing efforts to promote gender equality, cultivate community, and deepen the ties between New York City and its thriving consular community over the past 90 years.”

The host of the evening was the Hon. Jana Trnovcova, Consul General of Slovakia in New York. “It is a great pleasure and honor to host the event. These strong women are wonderful role models. Their outstanding professional achievements contribute significantly to America’s society.They give back to their own communities with their leadership, mentoring, charity work and by professionally linking their countries with the USA,” she said.

“As the President of SOFC, I wish to start by appreciating the Consulate General of Slovakia for organizing The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York annual International Women’s Day event. I must also congratulate the 20 women being recognized, today, for their amazing and outstanding achievements. Their contributions to the development of the USA and the honor that is brought to their countries of origin is immense,” said Amb. Habib Habu, Consul General of Nigeria.

The traditional partner of the event is the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Consul General Raushan Yesbulatova initiated the annual celebration five years ago. This year partners included Entrepreneurs and Professionals Network, whose co-founder Magdaline Delany emceed the night and Blue Horizon International, whose director of relations Katarina Novakova provided PR services for the event.

Participating countries this year included Barbados, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay. All participating countries contributed to the festive reception with their national food and beverage specialties.

Since its founding in 1925, The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York has represented the world’s largest diplomatic community. This unique organization, whose members are gathered from the 113 NYC-based Consulates General, is steered by an Executive Committee made up of elected members representing all countries via regional groupings. The Society strives to promote good relations between the NYC Consular Corps and our hosts, New York and the United States of America.

The Society arranges useful forums and briefings with local, state and federal authorities and regular charitable and social events for members and guests. The Society has regularly held fund-raising events and has a long and proud philanthropic record. Since November 1988 when the Society honored former US President Jimmy Carter and made a substantial contribution that year to Habitat For Humanity, other beneficiaries of the more than $850,000 raised in recent years have included Special Olympics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Paul Newman’s Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, the children’s programs of CARE International and the American Cancer Society.