Global Citizen Award Gala 2024
Our Gala, in Photos
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our UNA-Canada family of supporters, sponsors, and attendees for making the 2024 Global Citizen Award Gala a massive success.
This year we recognized CEO, entrepreneur, and Dragons’ Den host Manjit Minhas for her extraordinary contributions to gender equality and community-oriented leadership, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Gender Equality. She and countless others helped to make the evening one to remember.
We were proud to host The Hon. Anita Anand as the evening’s special presenter. We were also impressed by the remarks of RCMP Sgt. Kelly Willis, a UN Peacekeeping veteran who founded the Womens’ Indigenous Network within the RCMP. And a special thank you to our MC, Sharmin Hassaniani, for leading us through the evening so smoothly, and to Almustafa Abbas for sharing his experience with our Building Young Entrepreneurs programme.
Ms. Minhas was selected as this year's Global Citizen Award recipient for her commitment to investing in women-run enterprises and her philanthropic efforts that empower women.
She has achieved barrier-breaking success in the male-dominated business world, exemplifying, through her own journey, strides towards SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Her experience as a Dragon on Dragons’ Den has enabled her to invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs striving to realize their dreams, and Ms. Minhas has used her influence to reduce inequalities in women's access to investment and leadership positions.
The UN echoes this: empowering women and girls in all aspects of society is an essential tool in reducing poverty, promoting inclusive growth, and building resilient societies worldwide. If, by 2025, women participated in the global economy on an equal level to men, global GDP would have increased by 26% - that’s like adding an economy larger than that of the United States to the world (McKinsey Consulting Group).
Ms. Minhas has used her platform to enact positive change from the ground up: as co-chair of United Way Calgary’s 2016 fundraising efforts, she helped coordinate a campaign that generated over $55 million in donations to uplift Calgary’s most vulnerable populations.
She also played a pivotal role in raising tens of millions of dollars for the YWCA to build a crisis shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Gender equality urgently demands that we empower women of all walks of life with the tools to uplift themselves, as female empowerment empowers us all. Our annual gala marked a celebratory occasion that served to both inspire and remind us of the work that lies ahead to achieve a more equal world.
A special thanks to our esteemed sponsors....
Our Sponsors (Secretary-General)
Our Sponsors (General Assembly)
Our Sponsors (Table Sponsors)
