Select your Country
25th August, 2014 – Port Moresby: Digicel PNG Foundation today launched the inaugural Men of Honour Award that will highlight ordinary men of Papua New Guinea who are doing extraordinary things to break the cycle of violence and bring about positive change in Papua New Guinea. “Through the Men of Honour Award, we are encouraging communities to identify role models of positive behaviour. There are honourable men who are alleviating suffering and preserving human dignity through the various roles they play,” said Beatrice Mahuru, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel PNG Foundation. The Men of Honour Awards are not achievement awards, rather, they are character awards. The Men of Honour Award encourages people to think about Papua New Guinean men who espouse good qualities and values in their work, their families and their communities to assist and advocate on behalf of vulnerable persons. “Papua New Guinea men have been vilified for decades and very little has been done to acknowledge the good men who are creating positive change. At the Foundation, we believe it’s time to create a pendulum shift and acknowledge true male champions who are agents of change within their spheres of influence,” Mahuru emphasized. The Men of Honour Awards are divided into six categories: the Community Ingenuity Award, Sporting Mentor Award, Community Entrepreneur Award, the Community Education Champion, Community Leadership Award and the 2014 Man of Honour Award. Nominations for the Men of Honour are now open and will close on the 12th December 2014. Nomination forms are available from all Digicel outlets. The Awards will be given during the Men of Honour Awards Gala Night scheduled for March 2015. Family and Sexual Violence is cause for concern in Papua New Guinea because of the disastrous consequences it has on personal well-being and public health. PNG ranks 156 out of 186 countries listed in the 2013 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Gender Inequality Index, placing it in the bottom 10 per cent of countries worldwide. Digicel PNG Foundation itself has established three Women’s Resource Centres and in partnership with UNICEF and the National Department of Health, co-funded five Family Support Centres to assist survivors. As a Foundation, we want to break the cycle of violence through focusing on positive behaviour for affirmative action.
