Mouawad Force For Good Crown
If you have not been living under a rock for the past few months, then you know that the 71st Miss Universe Competition is currently underway in the Big Easy. Eighty-four delegates from across the world landed in New Orleans, Louisiana last week to participate in a competition known as the “Greatest Celebration of Women.”
For people like me who are fans of this system or just fans of pageantry in general, we know and understand the excitement, work, and sometimes stress that goes into preparing for competition. To the outside world, this industry looks like it is just glitz and glam, but it is much deeper than that. Pageantry is a vehicle that is used to celebrate skills, talents, and abilities while leaving a lasting impact. In order to create this type of impact, contestants must understand the importance of having a platform or a cause that is near and dear to their hearts. This cannot be something they just create for the sake of a competition, but this service mindset must be nurtured and developed well before the competition begins.
As I have been paying close attention to the 71st Miss Universe delegates, I see the type of impact they are leaving that supersedes any crown. Yes the Miss Universe brand has helped to elevate their voice and their advocacy, but the work the delegates are doing is a genuine part of their lifestyle which makes it easy to balance preparing for competition while promoting a cause.
For example, R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss USA, is doing an amazing job with her work in sustainable fashion. She works with a Houston-based nonprofit where they are able to take unwanted textiles and fabrics that would have been tossed in landfills, and they use them to create sustainable fashion pieces.
Laksmi De-Neefe Suardana, Miss Indonesia, is making an impact by promoting literacy. She even taught English to children in poor neighborhoods in Bali. Even Harnaaz Sandhu, Miss Universe 2021, is leading the way by advocating for menstrual equity, and she created a coalition in her home country of India to address this issue.
As a way to celebrate the delegates’ serviced based work, Miss Universe has partnered with ImpactWayv to host the ImpactWayv Challenge for the 2nd year in a row. This challenge is a competition among the Miss Universe delegates to see who can create the most social impact among their fans and followers. Leading up to the event, MISS UNIVERSE delegates have been utilizing the ImpactWayv app to promote the causes most important to them and their home countries. The winner of the ImpactWayv Challenge will be chosen based on the positive awareness that she spreads, and the inspiration she creates, for the causes she cares about. Included in the determination will be the delegates’ originality, influence, and creativity. The winner of this challenge will be announced at the final competition.
As you can see these delegates are doing great work in their communities that will continue to impact others even after this competition ends.
Fred Mouawad; Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu and Contestants pose for photos during the Mouawad Crown Unveiling Event at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center on January 12th, 2023. The MISS UNIVERSE delegates are touring, filming, rehearsing and preparing to compete for the MISS UNIVERSE crown before the show airs LIVE from New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, January 14 at 7:00 PM CT on The Roku Channel in English and Telemundo in Spanish.
*Be sure to tune in to watch the final competition of the 71st Miss Universe on Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 7:00pm CST on the Roku Channel in English and Telemundo in Spanish.
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