The Shona Project's SHINE Festival has been nominated for the European Citizen's Prize.
Waterford MEP Grace O'Sullivan put the festival forward for the prize praising the organisation for "the amazing network they have built for girls to support girls."
She made the announcement via Twitter and created a thread with some of her favourite pieces of work from the website.
Many of you will know The Shona Project for the amazing network they have built for girls to support girls.
Today I am proud to nominate @shonadotie and their SHINE Festival for the European Citizens' Prize! 🏆
Thanks to @MacManusChris for joining the nomination 😊 pic.twitter.com/CHDgJNXd82
— Grace O'Sullivan MEP (@GraceOSllvn) April 14, 2023
The Shona Project is run by Waterford-based woman, Tammy Darcy.
Speaking to Beat News, she said she is absolutely shocked to have been nominated.
"We've won local and national awards before, but this is a really big one for us," she said.
Tammy is currently in Dublin as she has been nominated for Image's Businesswoman of the Year Award.
Touching on where she would like to take the Project in the future, she shared one idea.
"One of the things we'd love to do is create a Shona Project for boys cause there's no version of the Shona Project for boys in Ireland at the moment, so we'd love to work with another organisation or people with specific expertise to make that happen," Tammy said.
Tammy is the older sister of Shona, who recently passed away.
Between the ages of 13 and 15, Shona started to struggle with everyday tasks and was then diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM), which is an acquired brain injury.
Tammy set up The Shona Project in order to carry on her sister's legacy by celebrating, empowering, and educating women and girls.
For more information on The Shona Project, visit their website.
