winners of the Ellie Maxwell Award 2019
On Tuesday 17th September 2019, Mxogyny collected the Ellie Maxwell Award at an inaugural ceremony hosted by Firefly International. The latter organisation was founded by Ellie Maxwell, who was herself a University of Edinburgh graduate and a committed social activist. We are delighted to collaborate with an organisation that continues her legacy through their work with young people who face hardship due to past or ongoing conflict in Bosnia, Gaza, Turkey and Syria. It was an honour to receive the award from Ellie Maxwell’s father, Peter Constable Maxwell, who has continued to be heavily involved with Firefly International’s work since his daughter’s death in 2009.
pictured from left to right: Peter Constable Maxwell (Ellie Maxwell’s father), Margot Coles (Chair of Trustees at Firefly International), Maisie Palmer (Founder and Editor-in-chief of Mxogyny) and Diana McMicking (Director of Firefly International).
The event was held in the beautiful Elder Room in Old College at the University of Edinburgh. It was an opportunity for me to present Mxogyny’s mission to key members of the charity such as Diana McMicking (Director), Tor Crawley (Administrator) and Margot Coles (Chair of Trustees), alongside Sarah Smith (Vice President of the University of Edinburgh) and a group of professionals working in the non-profit sector. Our publication was selected as a co-winner alongside COLOURS of Edinburgh, an organisation that provides “a platform for Scotland's newcomers seeking refuge to share their stories through immersive art, research & digital media.” We hope to collaborate with the team at COLOURS of Edinburgh shortly, so watch out on our social media for future projects with them.
pictured: Co-winner Moh Al-Haifi from COLOURS of Edinburgh presenting to the group.
As a recipient of the Ellie Maxwell Award, I (Maisie) have become personally invested in Firefly International and the charitable work they do. The organisation promotes values which we at Mxogyny admire - it supports locally led projects in regions affected by war, with a focus on creating inclusive places where young people can thrive. Mxogyny plan to maintain a strong bond with Firefly International and develop our relationship with them in the upcoming months and years.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Firefly for facilitating the award and the Committee (Amal Azzudin, Mark Chadwick, Adrian Beidas and Ben Constable Maxwell) who selected us to be prize winners.
check out Firefly International and get involved with Colours of Edinburgh.