The 24th
of September was a great day for Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva. In front of a
stellar collection of diplomats, artists, activists and fashion industry
leaders, she took home the coveted, Fashion 4 Development award
at the 9th Annual First Ladies luncheon in New York.
Held in
the gorgeous Pierre Hotel the function was organised by Evie Evangelou’s Fashion 4 Development. Founded a
decade ago, its objective is to “support the UN Millennium Development Goals
and ‘Every woman, Every child.’” Ms Evangelou’s vision
is to further this goal through education, empowerment, enhancement and
enrichment”
Her organisation pursues this agenda in partnership with the fashion industry
and others who share a passion for its goals. Much has been achieved in this
short time. As Evie Evangelou explained, “It has
been nearly a decade, with much to celebrate, and I am overwhelmed with the
benevolence of the stakeholders and change agents”
With the objective of
celebrating the achievements of powerful women who share a commitment to the
UN’s development goals, it’s no surprise that Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva’s
efforts came to their attention. Apart from serving as Uzbekistan’s ambassador to UNESCO for a decade,
she and husband Timur Tillyaev, have set up and continue to operate
several philanthropic foundations in the land of their birth. One example of
this is the You Are Not Alone Foundation. Its priorities are
closely aligned to both the UN Millennium
Development Goals and Evie Evangelou’s Fashion 4 Development.
Just as
the UN and Fashion 4 Development emphasise sustainability, education and
empowerment, so does the You Are Not Alone Foundation. Lola Karimova’s foundation has assisted thousands of underprivileged
children to access educational opportunities
which they otherwise might not have – several hundred of whom have subsequently
gone on to tertiary studies. Beyond this, the organisation also provides
medical services to at risk children and orphans. In one prominent example it
has set up a partnership with French NGO La
Chaine de l’Espoir. Translated into English the name means, The
Chain of Hope and it precisely offers that. Together the two organisations
have provided over 130 Uzbek children with life-saving cardiac surgery.
Evidently then, by contributing her time and money towards the health and schooling of Uzbekistan’s youth, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva is directly enhancing their empowerment and education. Actions like these provide a strong impetus to the UN’s development goals and exemplify why Evie Evangelou and Fashion 4 Development would want to recognise her efforts. Lola Karimova was conscious of this when she spoke after receiving the award;
“It is a great honour for me to be the recipient of this award that recognises not only my efforts but also the efforts of other people who are committed to safeguarding the health of our planet. Fashion 4 Development, thank you for the immense work you have been doing for the future of our planet, for your strong commitment to creating the sustainable world, for raising the awareness of our common responsibility and making people think of what kind of legacy we will be leaving to future generations.”
