Marlene le Roux, Artscape CEO, was bestowed the Women of Wonder (WOW) Award at a glittering gala dinner event at the President Hotel in Cape Town.
The Women of Wonder Awards was incepted in 2015 with the vision of CEO Farzana Mayet to host an award which does not only give preference to women in power positions but also ordinary yet extraordinary women who do so much and ask for nothing in return. The WOW Award has become an internationally accredited platform to give due recognition and award ordinary extraordinary women making a difference in her respective fields of practice.
This prestigious award brings together powerful and influential women as well as women who are striving for excellence. Women who have succeeded in their professional and personal lives, and who embody the qualities of leadership in displaying active, creative and integrative efforts in achieving success at personal, national, and regional levels, to deliberate on ways of inclusion and empowerment of women in the mainstream economy through skills development, enterprise development.
In her acceptance speech Marlene acknowledged the millions of voiceless women who do not have opportunities or economic freedom to follow their dreams due to numerous circumstances. She also dedicated her award to her late Tietie (Christine Le Roux) – her beloved mother – and her late 15-year-old son Adam George who had cerebral palsy and communicated with her and the world in his unique way. She equally acknowledged other institutions and people she draws strength from, such as the founders of Lief and Leed in Mamre – an organisation that was established by Michael September and Paul Arendse – both with cerebral palsy too. Her gratitude equally extended to the Artscape Council as well as Artscape staff for ‘always serving society with dignity.’
Her impassioned plea was that we should examine our value system. ‘I am a firm believer of peace, but peace cannot happen without justice. Hence, I use evenings like these to make my voice heard and amplify that we need to start from the top leadership while showing ethical leadership on all levels. My wish for you is to continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Let us start in our homes, our neighbourhoods, our churches, mosques, synagogues and start to see the person.  Racism, homophobia, sexism, abusive language, intolerant religious practices, abuse of political power, leaders who are bullies and all these social ills have no place for you in our society. Let us together remain women of wonder as we bring love, peace and kindness and moreover, opportunities to South Africa, the African continent and the world at large. Let us get back to be human beings who put others first.’
The WOW Awards have gained tremendous popularity and aside from South Africa, have grown internationally with chapters in Dubai, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, India and Qatar. Other recipients last night include the very famous Carol Bouwer, celebrity chef Zola Nene, the Free State MEC of Finances Gadija Brown and media personality Tanya Nefdt among others. Previous awardees include luminaries such as Zoleka Mandela, Catherine Constantinides, Jenny Morris and Tracey Lange.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MULTI AWARD WINNING MARLENE LE ROUX from MapMyWay!
