The World Youth Alliance (WYA) is delighted to present the Viktor Frankl Award to outstanding members from Kenya, Poland, Mexico, Tunisia, the Philippines, and the United States of America.
Now in its sixth year, the Viktor Frankl Award is presented to exemplary WYA members who have made significant and vital contributions in upholding WYA’s mission to promote the dignity of the human person in their communities.
Keep reading to learn more about our awardees for 2023!
WYA Africa Awardee: Nyingi Wahome (Kenya)
“I love that I help people grow by standing firm in the concepts of human dignity that WYA has taught me.”
Nyingi signed the WYA charter in 2019, completed the Certified Training Program (CTP) in 2020, and completed the Advocacy Academy in 2021. Nyingi has helped WYA partner with the National Aids Control Council (NACC) to train youth coordinators on a person-centered approach to HIV/AIDS prevention in Kenya. He was a CTP teacher to youth across Africa and trained rehabilitated boys on the concepts of the HDC. He also taught mothers in crisis pregnancy situations the basic concepts of Fertility Education and Medical Management (FEMM) as part of a dignity project.
Nyingi shares how joining WYA became a discovery of person-centeredness, the correct understanding of freedom, and shared respect for the family unit as the building blocks for a free and just society. “WYA has taught me the power of human capital. If we train ourselves to use our will and intellect to seek and live by the truth, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome as a global family.”
WYA Europe Awardee: Anna Szafarz (Poland)
“Recognizing everyone’s humanity and appreciating their worth as individuals. To me, that is true inclusivity.”
WYA stood out to Anna because of the values the entire community aims to protect worldwide. She instantly connected with the idea of recognizing everyone’s humanity and appreciating their individual worth. She became a WYA member at the beginning of 2021 and immediately went on to complete the CTP training. She was Chapter Coordinator and a CTP and Advocacy Academy trainer. She was also a Board Member of WYA Poland from July 2021 until August 2022, where she helped organize two successful Erasmus projects and created partnerships with other like-minded NGOs in Poland. She helped recruit new WYA members who then became interns at WYA Europe. Currently, she is the Head of Advocacy of WYA Poland.
Anna Shares that her favorite thing about WYA is the people. “Throughout different projects, I gained lifelong friends who motivate me to keep growing. You will always find support in our community, which I think is very rare today. WYA also taught me that young people all over the world have the same desires and goals – to make our society better. Thanks to the ongoing support at WYA, you never feel alone in your efforts to do so.”
WYA Latin America and the Caribbean Awardee: Ana Bolio (Mexico)
“A great misunderstanding of human dignity leads to great conflicts. Only through a true understanding of human dignity can we create strong international relationships in our world. That is why, at WYA, we must share this message of dignity with our communities.”
Ana became a WYA member in 2019 after a friend introduced her to the topics in the CTP. Since then, she has completed the Advocacy Academy and has been a CTP trainer in 4 distinct groups in Latin America. She considers this her most significant achievement because of her love for the contents of the program, such as solidarity and culture. In 2021, She attended the International Solidarity Forum and helped create the WYA Mexico National Committee later that year to promote human dignity and expand WYA in the region. In 2022, she participated in the Youth Program of the Transatlantic Summit IV – Political Network for Values in Budapest, where she and other WYA members exchanged ideas about a future in favor of life, family, and freedom. She was also invited to speak at the Open World International Youth Summit in Serbia on “the role of young people in society.”
Looking to the future, Ana hopes for more growth for WYA in her region. “Many young people are looking for a space that truly represents them but are unaware that WYA exists to provide that space. And above all, what I wish is that WYA members will continue to gain a voice in public spaces.”
WYA Middle East and North Africa Awardee: Mayssa Aissawi (Tunisia)
“Human dignity can never be taken away from us. No matter how hard life can get, we still have our dignity within us; and since our dignity grants our rights, we have to fight for what we believe in and fight for our rights.”
Mayssa became a certified WYA member in 2017 and took a CTP refresher in 2020. Her involvement in WYA took off by the end of 2020 when everything moved online. In 2021, she completed the Advocacy Academy, took the Training of Trainers and became a level 3 WYA Trainer. She became the national coordinator of the Tunisia National Committee in 2022. She also represented WYA at international events such as the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD), and the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
Looking to the future, Mayssa hopes that WYA will bring all the MENA regions together in solidarity and reduce any boundaries that are there. “I believe that through WYA, we can show the real image of people in the MENA region.”
WYA Asia Pacific Awardee: Jenn Margarette Bordon (The Philippines)
“Human dignity transcends categories. It is universal. It does not regard race, education, money, age, religion, or culture. Every person is worthy of respect.”
Jenn became a WYA member in 2012 during the first-ever Emerging Leaders Conference (ELC) in WYA Asia Pacific. What stood out to her about WYA was that it had an understanding of the human person that transcends categories. In the summers of 2016, 2017, and 2019, she was an ELC facilitator. She was also the WYA University of the Philippines (UPV) President in 2017. She was a WYA Headquarters intern and WYA Iloilo Vice President in 2018, a Certified Trainer for Asia Pacific in 2020, and the Asia Pacific Head Delegate for International Solidarity Forum in 2021.
Jenn hopes that there will be more partnerships that can bring WYA to more parts of the country. “I hope we get to teach more young minds about human dignity and how at a young age, they can impact change. With this age of technology, I hope that WYA’s online presence will encourage more youth to participate in advocacy driven projects.”
WYA North America Awardee: Marietta Mortensen (The United States)
“It’s incredible how a shared desire to uphold the dignity of every human person can be the foundation for instant friendships. Even though we all come from very different backgrounds and cultures, this kind of international friendship and collaboration is something I want to be the center of my career for the rest of my life!”
Marietta became a WYA member in the spring of 2021 after hearing a talk by the former Regional Director of WYA North America, Siobhan-Heekin Canedy, at her university. WYA spoke to her ideals, talents, and interests and she immediately applied for a summer internship in North America. Soon after, she was nominated as the Head Delegate for the WYA North America delegation at the 2021 International Solidarity Forum. In the summer of 2022, she was an in-person Advocacy intern in Brussels, Belgium. And later that November, she was part of the WYA delegation to the 2022 APEC Youth Forum in Taipei, Taiwan.
One of Marietta’s goals as a WYA member is outreach. “I’m hoping to get more people involved in WYA in the North America region – there’s so much WYA has to offer the young people in my region, and so few of them know about it!”
