THE FEATHER AWARDS 2010 – EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN

The second annual Feather Awards, in association with The Female Tribe and 1st for Women Insurance Brokers, took place on 25 March 2010 at The Venue in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

This prominent event recognises the extraordinary women of South Africa and the meaningful contribution they have made across four categories including, Business Icon and Entrepreneur, Community Builder and Humanitarian, Arts, Culture and Heritage and Heroine.

The four winners from each category were announced on the evening. And the winners are:

Business Icon and Entrepreneur: Yvonne Johnston – Marketer-at-large and renowned communicator, strategist and public speaker.

Arts, Culture and Heritage: Tebogo Kgobokoe - Dance Choreographer and Deputy Chairperson of the North West Provincial Arts & Culture Council. Tebogo is making an enormous difference through the development of dance-sport in rural areas in South Africa.

Community Builder and Humanitarian: Khanyisile Motsa - Director of Berea-Hillbrow Home of Hope. This exceptional woman’s efforts have positively impacted more than 8000 lives to date.

Heroine: Criselda Kananda - MD: Positive Talk Services and Metro FM Talk Host. Criselda is a woman who has faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles and adversities and has overcome these by her inner strength and will to survive

The panel of judges included the managing director of 1st for Women, Robyn Farrell; Bharti Harie, head of the International Financial Department of the IDC; Puseletso Lukele, programme manager for Sustainable Economic Development, and Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, the founder and managing director of Business DNA and the regional director of the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators).

As a special treat, The Voice of Women Legacy Library was open for guests to enter their messages of hope and encouragement for women of the next generation.

Tanya Magalhaes, Chief Oracle of the Female Tribe and creator of the Feather Awards said: "The Feather Awards 2010 was an evening to remember. It was incredibly rewarding to see these worthy women celebrated and recognised. I am also sincerely grateful to every individual, sponsor and partner who has supported this initiative over the past two years."

Robyn Farrell, managing director of 1st for Women concludes: "The values behind The Feather Awards and the ethos of 1st for Women Insurance are one and the same. Both revere and acknowledge the remarkable achievements of South Africa’s matriarchs and celebrate the multifaceted nature of women – her compassion, her strength and her determination. That said, every woman’s contribution to society is sacred. Being a mother and a housewife is equally important as being an entrepreneur or an artist. Whatever it is a woman chooses to undertake, her DNA dictates that she is predisposed to nurturing, caring and giving as much of herself as she possibly can."