Masungi Georeserve’s Ann Dumaliang and Billie Dumaliang, have been recognized as one of five winners of Vanity Fair's 2021 Changing Your Mind Travel Awards.
The prestigious award is given to undaunting individuals who work tirelessly to change the minds of people on issues such as travel, the environment, and health, among others.
“The Vanity Fair Changing Your Mind Travel Awards feel even more critical this year, when important work might go unnoticed, while a pandemic ravages and our freedom is curbed. Our 2021 winners have plugged on, undaunted, and are profoundly deserving of being acknowledged here,” says Michelle Jana Chan, Vanity Fair London travel editor.
‘We Looked Exhausted During the Interview’
In a statement sent to Esquire Philippines, sisters Ann and Billie express their gratitude for the award. “We are greatly honored to be featured in Vanity Fair's 2021 Changing Your Mind Awards and its iconic Hollywood Issue. Michelle invited us to an interview as potential winners way back in October,” said the sisters.
“As Michelle probably noticed in the interview and photos, we were exhausted. All year, we have been fighting the pandemic, quarries, and unscrupulous land grabbers, and finding ways to keep our park rangers safe and employed. Knowing how people from all over the world continue to support our mission to Save Masungi always gives us that spark of hope. We dedicate this recognition to them and all Filipinos fighting tooth and nail for our threatened ecosystems," said sisters Ann and Billie Dumaliang.
This year's awardees include Marivelton Baré, one of Brazil's most notable indigenous leaders, Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena, a food entrepreneur elevating South African town cuisine, Rashad Salim, an Iraqi-German artist exploring Mesopotamia’s traditional maritime culture, and Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, and Lester Walker, founders of a culinary collective based in the Brox, New York, which brings together activism, empowerment, and education.
The winner's profiles are published on the celebrated magazine's Hollywood Issue, which features highly anticipated stories from the TV and movie awards season.
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