Tracy Bassil, Marine Kerdaffrec, Elena Redaelli: these are the three winners of the Nellie Award Italia 2021, organized by The Circle Italia Onlus with Tiffany & Co and in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano. The award is intended for young graduates and doctoral students who have distinguished themselves not only for their academic achievements, but also in the social field, applying their knowledge to identify innovative solutions for the benefit of others.
Tracy Bassil is an architect, multi-disciplinary designer, management engineer originally from the Middle East. Her thesis project aims to find a solution to the pressing problems of our present with a long-term vision. Marine Kerdaffrec with her thesis wanted to explore the links between the environment and health, while Elena Redaelli has a degree in biomedical engineering and wants to use her passion for mathematics in order to improve people’s lives, through numerical simulations.
The awarding of the prizes was approved by a Commission appointed after the deadline for the call, made up of members of The Circle Italia Onlus, Tiffany & Co. Italia and Politecnico di Milano. Among the over seventy applications received, the Commission identified the three graduates who received the award.
Tracy Bassil, Marine Kerdaffrec and Elena Redaelli presented very different projects, but all united by the desire to promote female empowerment and an ever-increasing sensitivity towards the environment and society, perfectly interpreting the values of the initiative.
The title of the award is inspired by the American reporter and explorer Nellie Bly. Lived between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a pioneer of investigative journalism and famous for being the first woman to go around the world alone in 72 days, Nellie gave a voice to many other women and challenged social conventions by demonstrating that a talented woman can follow her aspirations. She is an intense and passionate woman, philanthropist and benefactor. Among her investigations, we recall those on the working conditions of women in factories in Pittsburgh and the report on the mistreatment inside psychiatric hospitals.
