On Saturday, December 16th, special guests gathered at the 27th UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) Awards dinner at Casa Cipriani, N.Y.C.. The black-tie ceremony honored journalists from the USA as well as Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and the UK. Special guests and honorees included Alessandro Benetton, Sofia Carson, and Sharon Stone.
The guest of honor Valeria Robecco, president of the UNCA reminded the audience of “the grave and growing dangers faced by journalists worldwide.” US Secretary-General António Guterres.
“At least 88 journalists were killed in the line of duty in 2022, marking a sharp increase over previous years”.
Alessandro Benetton, the chairman of Edizione SaA, one of the largest European holding companies, was honored for his advocacy, his family’s legacy of inclusion, and longstanding support of sustainability and human rights lauded the work of journalists and explained humbly,
“There is nothing worse than long speeches by businessmen so let me focus only on one project, the Roma Fiumicino Airport, the main gate to Italy, which we control in partnership with Blackstone. We’ve turned the airport into an innovation hub, where airplanes run on sustainable fuel, water is recycled, and operations are powered by renewable energy. We are testing artificial intelligence to handle aircraft while they’re on the ground and fully electric, zero-emissions taxi drones, to move passengers through the terminal. It sounds like the future, but this is a current reality, born from a focus on sustainability that we have been applying to our businesses for almost a decade.”
Sofia Carson, UNICEF Ambassador who was honored as the Global Advocate wore a black and white striped Valentino Couture full-length gown, explained that being a UNICEF Ambassador was her highest honor,
“I am infinitely grateful to UNICEF for bestowing me with the immense honor of being a UNICEF Ambassador,” she declared, “UNICEF has been, and always will be, a beacon of hope, a lifesaving force, and an instrument of good for children in every corner of the world. I am proudly, wholly, and humbly, committed to their life-saving mission, and I cannot wait for the journey that lies ahead…being a voice for women and girls was the greatest joy of my life. A passionate advocate for girls and their education. She played tribute to her mother, Laura Char Carson, who was seated next to her.
Sharon Stone spoke emotionally of the toll that “total commitment to work” can take as she recalled her marriage to a journalist, “The cost of truth is never small in this effort to bring awareness” she declared with tears in her eyes. Stone spoke of the commitment to environmental sustainability, HIV/AIDS, and praised the commitment of the Secretary-General and all the journalists assembled there as well as and the joys of raising three children as a single mother.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Sherwin Bryce-Pease proved to be a scintillating master of ceremonies not unlike the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Notables included: Agnese Benetton, Luce Benetton, Francesca Bodini, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, Chiara Clemente, Marco Congiu, Carmelia Entekhabi, Evelyn Leopold, H.E. Miguel Angel Moratinos, Ricardo Ortega, Priscilla Rattazzi, Shalini Singh, Carl Skau, Alannah Travers, Carlo Tunioli, Nadima Umar
The UNCA Awards honors journalists worldwide who have provided the best print, broadcast, and electronic media coverage of the United Nations, UN agencies, and field operations. UNCA is a professional organization of over 200 journalists from dozens of countries representing scores of publications and broadcasters from all regions of the world, plus the major global news agencies.
Photos Jared Siskin
