NATPE Global and Worldwide Audiovisual Women’s Association (WAWA) announced that WAWA’s Woman of the Year Awards will move to NATPE Global in 2025. The award will be presented on Thursday, February 5th at the InterContinental Miami. The awards, previously held at MIP Cancun, will return to Miami, where they were originally hosted.
In addition to the awards presentation, WAWA will have a prominent pavilion on the NATPE Global market floor from February 5-7 and will also present a spotlight on participating companies. During the member presentations, companies will showcase content dubbed in English, offering non-Spanish-speaking buyers a unique opportunity to discover fresh and compelling content.
“NATPE Global provides the perfect backdrop to recognize our Woman of the Year,” said Roxana Rotundo, Chair of the WAWA Board of Directors. “WAWA’s Woman of the Year was started in Miami in 2017 by Liliam Hernández and Cecilia Gómez de la Torre, and is now returning to its original home. Last year, we hosted a fantastic event at the inaugural NATPE Global, led by Claire Macdonald. Claire is an executive who truly understands our association’s mission and responsibility, and collaborating with NATPE will be instrumental in making this upcoming celebration of our Woman of the Year a remarkable occasion.”
“NATPE is honored that WAWA will crown the Woman of the Year during a special awards presentation,” said Claire Macdonald, NATPE’s executive director. “This organization, built on collaboration and action, has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception. There is a certain grit and can-do attitude within this group that is refreshing and makes WAWA such a fabulous partner.”
Launched in 2017, the Woman of the Year Award honors an individual who exemplifies leadership, ethics, diversity, and commitment – core values of the organization. WAWA aims to foster a more inclusive industry across all sectors of the audiovisual world. Past recipients include notable leaders such as Blanca Ponce, Analida López, Cecilia Galeano, Cynthia Hudson, Giselle González, Carmen Larios, Selina Nederhand and Fidela Navarro.
This marks a deepening of the partnership between NATPE Global and WAWA, following the multi-faceted collaboration at the 2024 edition of NATPE Global. Previously, the two organizations successfully hosted the Wonder Women Mentorship program, which provided a dozen female students from Florida International University’s audiovisual programs with mentorship opportunities. The program, spearheaded by Maggie Salas-Amaro Castellon, director of Canela Kids, saw WAWA managing recruitment and program oversight. Each mentee received complimentary access to NATPE Global, furthering WAWA’s commitment to nurturing future female leaders in the industry.