THE HUMANITARIAN WATER AND FOOD AWARD (WAF) has established The Humanitarian Water and Food Award
Water and food are essential for mankind; yet almost 1 billion people starve every day and do not have access to clean water.
The Humanitarian Water and Food Award was created to highlight and reward groundbreaking projects that are using effective solutions to conserve water and grow food sustainably. The purpose is to make the knowledge and technology from these projects globally available for those communities that are struggling to provide clean water and healthy food for their people.
In order to strengthen and expand these initiatives WAF aims to facilitate sustainable shared value CSR Business opportunities between award finalists and corporations.
The first Award Event successfully took place on November 25th 2010.
The Organisation
WAF is a registered non-profit volunteer association: Registration: 31 35 39 20
Statutes are available WAF Statutes
Vision
Water and Food for All
Mission
To create awareness and motivate action toward the global Water and Food challenge by awarding and empowering sustainable and innovative initiatives through a yearly or bi-yearly Award Event – and enable these community-based organizations, the business sector, knowledge institutions and social entrepreneurs to collaborate in order to create shared value and resolve this challenge.
Values
Sustainability
Is achievable when the people are empowered to fulfill their Human Right to Water and Food and the awarded initiatives are creating positive impacts at the environmental, social and economic levels of a society.
Innovation
New tools, methods and approaches are needed in order to solve the Water and Food situation at a global scale. As an organisation, WAF is innovative based on its network-oriented approach and is the first to create a Water and Food Award.
Working together
We can create greater social impacts by joining our efforts, resources, knowledge and passion. WAF offers a platform for collaboration across boundaries for businesses, governments, institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), individuals, artists etc.
Passion for life
Our vision for Water and Food as Human Rights is a response from the heart with a passion for life where Water and Food are seeds for life in peace. Volunteers, sponsors and other stakeholders who join WAF become part of the organisation in their own free way and are encouraged to explore and fulfill their own passion for life.
Principles
WAF is independent from political and religious movements. We believe in three principles:
1) Respect for Water and Food as Human Rights
We commit to advocate for Water and Food as Human Rights. Water and Food are prerequisite for a healthy, productive and dignified life and therefore should be accessible for every human being.
2) Contributing to sustainable development
We believe that the Water and Food situation can be solved by innovative and sustainable solutions. As a result, we recognize, reward and empower initiatives that create and increase positive social impacts for the needy communities.
3) Joint efforts through respective dialog
We believe that the Water and Food situation can be solved by joint efforts between the business, citizen and the public sectors. WAF functions as a facilitator and capacity building partner between the various actors in order to empower the identified initiatives.
Alliances
The Water & Food Organisation is member of United Nations Global Compact
Faculty of Life Sciences
LIFE sponsors WAF’s use their Marble Hall and auditoriums for free including the Award Event November 25th 2010. Students from Associations of Natural Resources, Foodstuffs and Biology-Biotech (LSF, FN and BIO) have been helping with promotion, live performance and setup.
Maqs Law Firm
sponsors the handling of legal affairs
Merkur Bank
Merkur handles WAF’s banking affairs. It is an ethical bank committed to social justice within a sustainable economy.
Board
Tina Lindgreen
Chair Person, Founder and General Secretary
“I clearly see how The Water & Food Award raises awareness of our global water and food challenge and attract solutions that really work. It motivates people to make a difference”
As independent business advisor and HR specialist Tina has supported the board of directors, executives and mid managers and teams in connection with cultural changes and restructuring in large, mid size and small corporations. Tina was HR Manager for Esprit de Corp.
Mentor for master students at Copenhagen Business School. Board Member CSR Forum. Member of Rotary.
Søren Christensen
Vice Chairman
“As professor emeritus at The Institute of Organisation and Work Sociology of Copenhagen Business School I try to put my knowledge and experience from the fields of organization and Leadership to use in The Water and Food Organisation, thus furthering the course of bringing water and food to the disadvantaged”
Søren undertakes consulting work in the area of organisation and leadership and advices PhD. students at Copenhagen Business School. He is author of articles and books on decision processes, company culture, project management and other organisational topics, some of which are mandatory literature for university business students.
Elena V. Pachkova, Member
Phd, Productivity Analysis. Head of Business Support R&D, Carlsberg Breweries
Preben Gamst is WAF’s lawyer and partner in Maqs Law Firm, www.maqs.com. Preben specialises in Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Property and Construction, Sports and Entertainment.
Amer Kamal, Member
Senior Project Manager, MT Højgaard
“I am motivated by the fact that its important to award work that also serve the mankind and that has a goalset of becoming valuable for everybody. It is a motivating factor to award a behavior and history shows that you get back what you give.
When WAF has chosen to give award it will certainly create a platform of satisfaction and recognization and most importantly it will create base for others to follow because it matters and the volunteer work will be a great part of our social status.
The new economy will and can accomplish greater society value if it base its base on recognition and awarding. Therefore, Waf is not only an initiative that is promoting a positive atmosfere and cutting in the same cake but indeed also promoting the message of being creative and enlarge the same cake”
Stephen Hinton, Member
CEO at HVR water purification Sweden and Award Applications and Research Manager at WAF
Founder of Eco Village in Sweden, sustainability presenter and lecturer. Stephen oversees the entire applications process. He is a biologist, a sustainability advisor and an author, and a valuable member of the team. Stephen is inspired by the business community’s response to the global problem of a lack of food and clean water.
“It may be that security of food means people can concentrate on building prosperity and peace in the world”
Dr. Pierluigi Orati, Member
Risk Manager at Enel Italy and CSR & Sustainability Director International at WAF
Dr. Pierluigi Orati provides substantial support with regards to connecting WAF to corporate sponsors that are large European and Indian companies. He works in the Country Risk Management Unit at Enel Spa and is a freelance journalist writing mainly for “La Finanza” magazine. He is also a member in the International Scientific Committee at La Finanza and a coordinator of the International Schumpeter Lectures at International Insititute of Advanced Economic and Social Studies.
Pierluigi is joining the Judging Panel of the European Business Awards for the categories Environmental and Customer Focus. In 2007 and in 2008 he was finalist and awarded the Ruban d’Honneur for the category Corporate Sustainability.
”Every single person I have met in connection with the Award Event 2010 November 25th stays now deeply in my heart and that especially you Tina were able to create a very positive atmosphere from the first to the last minute I have come on board your visionary and tremendous useful ship of hope!”
Alexandra Lundbæk, Member
Sales Manager at Zenit Consult
Cinthia Loïs Thomsen, Member
WAF Event Producer, Founder and Partner of The African Chamber of Commerce in Denmark
Cinthia was responsible for the production of the Award Event 2010, from its initial concept to the directing the performance of the nominees, musicians and guest speaker. She arranged the presence of ambassadors of the countries of the nominees. Cinthia believes that everyone should have access to clean water and food.
Ivar Samrén, former Chairman of Egmont Foundation, DFDS and Nuance Group AG, Vice President of Scandinavian Airlines, Advisor for the Board of WAF
Ivar Samrén has been on the board of 35 different corporations in 15 countries and 10 different branches of business. Until April 2009 he was Chairman of Egmont Fund for 10 years, of DFDS and Nuance Group AG in Switzerland. He was Chairman of the Governing Council of the Van Leer Group Foundation.
He served as Vice-Predident of Scandinavian Airlines Group (SAS) in Stockholm and as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Gate Gourmet International AG in Switzerland.
“A fundamental need for all human beings is water and food. All of us who have that, should contribute to a situation where those who don’t have these basic needs, can get them. If WAF could bring a contribution to this problem I am obliged to be of assistance”
Management Team
Other Team members
Carolynn Amujal Elung- Jensen, Master of Science in Environmental Management and Planning. Co-Manager of Award Applications
“Food and water are without a doubt life’s basics and everyone has a right to access them. With a background in Environment consultancy from a developing country like Uganda, sustainability of water and food resources is constantly one of the issues I have had to work with. Joining the Award Applications and Fundraising Teams at WAF is a great opportunity to participate in empowering sustainable projects in relation to food and water for all”.
Joseph Mills, Master in Environmental Management
CSR Complieance
Photos and bios on their way:
Laila Udby – Project coordinator
Klaus Fejer – Webmaster
Mun Li LAW – Database
Masud Furqan – Accounting
Else Marie Buck – Selection Committee Coordinator and Funding Assistant
The Award ceremony
The first award ceremony took place in Copenhagen, Denmark November 25th 2010.
Water and Food for All
It was, and in years to come, will continue to be a very special occasion that conveys a message of certainty and practical solutions.
We are welcoming sponsors, students, politicians, celebrities and many others. A Call to Peace-Multi Media Events expressed the message through their heartfelt Afro-Uruguyan music and rhythms. LIFE Choir directed by Astrid Nora sang beautifully. Sara, a young talented singer lend her voice to a passionate call for action.
The Joy of Participating in the Solution – Water and Food for All. Peace, then prosperity.
Many people joined and more will come! We showcased the nominated projects from around the world and met the pioneers.
It was a unique occasion to meet big-hearted people who are helping to set the agenda for a sustainable world and a much better life.
What we are achieving
- Support and recognize ground-breaking and sustainable humanitarian projects that provide a means for self-help. We want to create projects that make a considerable difference in supplying water and food to people in severe need.
- Encourage a dialogue and innovative collaboration between humanitarian initiatives and the business world in order to get sustainable help to the 1+ billion people who starve and drink contaminated water every single day. (This number remains constant in spite of the fact that relief work is increasing).
- Show that it pays to be creative, innovative and charitable: for the giver as well as the receiver.
- Bring the joy of giving into focus
- Practice social and humanitarian responsibility and innovation.
