Elizabeth Olsen

For our own good fortune and the opportunity that we have to make the world a better place by facing the future together. So we could not be more happy or grateful to present this EMA Futures Award to Elizabeth Olsen. Elizabeth Olsen. Hi. I'm really scared of public speaking.

So I brought this as a comfort blanket, but I'm gonna try and use this. I wanna thank, Alanna and Jen for being here. They live in Canada, and they're I'm feel really fortunate 'cause there's no reason for me to be here without them.

It wouldn't make sense. I wanna thank, EMA and Debbie for thinking to honor me at all, and for the vote of confidence. It's really meaningful to be here tonight in such spectacular company, including Miss Jane Fonda, who played my grandmother in my first film like 9 or 10 years ago.

You are such an inspiration to women of all generations, so thank you for your life work. So, I wanted to take the time up here just to celebrate Jen and Alanna and the work they do. Like they said, we met in Nicaragua and I was supposed to be on a vacation, and they were working very hard.

And I did, I joined them on a day trip where we distributed school supplies and recreational materials and played soccer with the kids, and it was a school that they had built. But it was on our drive back from visiting the school that we stopped at one of the, one of the poorest homes within the, incredibly impoverished community.

This this man, Ariel, his home was maybe 200 square feet, walls built of, various materials, a tarp for a roof, and the dirt as his floor, and he was the happiest man when he saw Alanna and Jen. And they were there to bring him his children's, school uniforms, 'cause you have to wear a uniform in school in Nicaragua.

And he wanted to share with us his animals and his home, and he would call, the Tynan sisters his angels. And it was then that I could recognize the impact that they have had, on so many individuals within Nicaragua and the communities that they've been helping.

So I'm sharing this story because it represents to me what, the Latitude Project is, whether it is building roofs, latrines, well pumps, that are safe for children, schools, water filters. They also have provided the first healthcare program for hundreds of families that had never had access to it in their life. Jen and Alanna have have inspired and empowered every individual they work with.

They don't enter these communities as saviors but as partners and friends, and they always ask, like they said, the communities what they need, and then they together with the people, build that. There's no imperialism. And just to witness the gratitude these communities have for the sisters has been, the greatest gift and encouragement. The Latitude Project builds not just physical structures but hope and pride.

And at our event tonight, surrounded by all these storytellers, I believe that theirs is a story worth telling. And what EMA does so well and uniquely is strongly encourage and educate our most powerful storytellers to use their voice and power to spread the word of, unknown stories like the Latitude. Well, I'm gonna read what I wrote, actually.

So the real-life superheroes like the Tynans, who fight the daily fight to help contribute to this planet we all share and all the people with whom we share it. And so in the name of that spirit of making our planet a better and more sustainable place, I am very proud to accept this, and I'll try and justify it, and your faith in me.

So, thank you for having me here tonight and allowing me to take this clumsy time to honor these, incredible women.