Hedy d’Ancona prepares the way for international Aletta Jacobs prize giving ceremony

Dr Noeleen Heyzer is the first non-Dutch woman to be awarded the Aletta Jacobs Prize. Hedy d’Ancona, the prize winner in 2002 for her contribution to international women’s emancipation, will interview the 2014 winner during the prize giving ceremony on Friday 7 March. The ceremony coincides with the preview of Aletta the Musical, to which Hedy d’Ancona has made a creative contribution. Dr Noeleen Heyzer will attend as guest of honour.

Letter to Aletta

Hedy d’Ancona is the figurehead of the second feminist wave and former State Secretary responsible for emancipation issues. In response to a request from the artistic team and GOOV Muziektheater, the producers of Aletta the Musical, she wrote a letter to Aletta on the eve of her marriage to Carel Victor Gerritsen. The letter is a fundamental part of that scene. Here is a quote: ‘(...) So why are you taking this step? You, who understood so many years before we did that economic and sexual dependence manipulated women into a powerless position. (…)’

Aletta Jacobs Prize

The University of Groningen awards the Aletta Jacobs Prize once every two years to a woman with an academic degree who has promoted emancipation nationally and/or internationally. The prize was established in 1990 by Prof. Erik Bleumink, a former president of the Board of the University.

The Aletta Jacobs Prize 2014 has been awarded to Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). She has been awarded the prize in recognition of her efforts to improve the treatment of women, particularly in Asia. This is the first time that the Aletta Jacobs Prize has been awarded to someone who is not Dutch.