Two LEAD Fellows win prestigious Goldman Prize

We are delighted to announce that two outstanding LEAD Fellows, Yuyun Ismawati from Indonesia and Olga Speranskaya from Russia, have won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots environmentalists.

“It is a wonderful achievement, and they both thoroughly deserve this recognition”, said Dr Simon Lyster, the Chief Executive of LEAD International. “Yuyun has done a brilliant job in helping poor communities in Indonesia develop sustainable solutions to solid wastes, and Olga has done an equally brilliant job helping eliminate toxic waste stockpiles in former Soviet countries”.

“It makes all our efforts worthwhile when LEAD Fellows go on to do great things”, said Dr Lyster.

When asked about the impact of LEAD training to their success, the recipients responded:

“LEAD gave me the tools, skills and knowledge to work with a multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable development. The experiences I gained through LEAD opened my horizons and changed my perspective on solving problems together to make a better world.”  - Yuyun

“LEAD made a great difference to my life. LEAD’s main idea – think globally, act locally – became the driving force in my career.  Being a member of the LEAD family is an honour and a unique opportunity to stay connected with so many highly skilled professionals all over the world.” – Olga

About the Prize Recipients

Yuyun Ismawati  - A single mother of two, Yuyun is the Director and co-founder of the Bali Fokus Foundation, a Bali based environmental NGO concerned with urban environmental management. Her work on community based waste management systems has helped improve environmental sustainability and livelihoods throughout the Bali region. In 2008, Yuyun helped coordinate the Indonesia Toxics-Free Network to expand the reach of her work. Yuyun is also involved with the LEAD Indonesia ‘Bridging Leadership Programme’, a capacity building project in the tsunami affected region of Aceh.

Olga Speranskaya - A Russian physicist, Olga is the Director of the Chemical Safety Program at the Eco-Accord Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (Eco-Accord). Her life’s work has been dedicated to combating toxic and nuclear contamination in former Soviet states. Over the past few years, Speranskaya has transformed the NGO community of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and helped them to implement more than 70 projects on toxic chemicals.

Release date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009