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Efva Attling

In 1996, former photo model, musician and designer Efva Attling became the first female Swedish celebrity to enter into a registered partnership with another woman. At that time, Swedish law did not allow same-gender marriages. Attling fought for equal rights for many years. Swedish marriage law became gender-neutral in May 2009, and Attling married her partner in November of the same year. Attling is known for daring to express her feelings and opinions through her designs in the battle to make the world a better place.

Malene Birger

Danish designer Malene Birger, an enterprising and skilled Danish businesswoman, is an important role model for many women. Through her work with UNICEF, she has helped make the world a better place for both women and children. Many dream of having the type of impact Birger has had, but it’s not often we see people transform their success into something that makes such a difference in other people’s lives.

Ilona Felicjańska

Polish Ilona Felicjańska has perfectly mastered the task of combining her many roles – as a mother of two, career woman, and international photo model. Even though fashion is still an important part of her life, she has in  recent years shifted her focus towards running her own PR agency, “Felicjańska media”. But even with her work and busy private life, Felicjańska still finds the time to help others. In 2006, she established the charity organisation “Niezapominajka”, which helps families with children who suffer from cerebral palsy.

Dana Schweiger

The American-born German Dana Schweiger is a real power woman. She is the mother of four children, a model – and since 1997 has successfully run the fashion brand bellybutton together with four other women. Charity is a matter of course for Schweiger, and the future of children in particular is very close to her heart. For several years, she has supported the German charity organisation  “SterniPark e.V.”.

Kari Traa

Her athleticism, business acumen, will to win, and healthy, sparkling nature make Kari Traa a role model for many women in her native country of Norway. She left home at a young age to pursue her skiing career in Switzerland. The outcome has been three Olympic medals – one of each kind. Yet with all her success, Traa has managed to keep both feet firmly on the ground. Today, she still contributes to skiing through her involvement in recruiting young talents. She began designing skiwear in 2002 and her company has enjoyed great success ever since.

Åsne Seierstad - Winner of the Walk IN Style 2009 Award

Last year, an unanimous jury elected the Norwegian author and war correspondent Åsne Seierstad the winner of the 2009 Walk IN Style Award.

The Norwegian foreign correspondent rose to fame in 2003 with her hard-hitting news reports for Scandinavian TV channels directly from Baghdad, where bombs rained around her. Since then, she has become an internationally recognised author, with such gripping bestsellers as the “The Bookseller of Kabul” and “Angel of Grozny”.

Seierstad is very dedicated to helping women and girls in Afghanistan. She has used some of the income from her works to establish a girls’ school in the country. She also chose to use the EURO 33,500 from the Walk IN Style Award to build a day care centre for the girls’ school so the pupils and teachers could attend school without having to take care of their children.

“The women in Afghanistan are among those women in the world who have the worst living conditions, as measured by democratic rights, illiteracy and mortality. Education is crucial to the fight against these problems. The future of these girls can be changed through education. That’s why education is very close to my heart,” said Åsne Seierstad when she accepted the award in February 2009.