Miss Earth 2008 Karla Henry. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
When Miss Earth and its counterpart national competition Miss Philippines Earth pageant were established in 2001, they championed a particular cause that was not vigorously pushed in beauty contests at the time, environmental awareness. And after more than two decades, many others followed suit. For 2008 winner Karla Henry, this is a welcome development.
“I think it’s great. I mean, the more people promoting sustainability, the better, right?” she told INQUIRER.net on the sidelines of an event she hosted in Cebu City last month.
The Miss Earth and Miss Philippines Earth pageants were founded by Manila-based organizer Carousel Productions to serve as platforms to encourage people to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle. The winners and the candidates, dubbed as “Beauties for a Cause,” spearhead environmental initiatives.
“We need to be talking consistently, talking about this. And it’s not something that’s just for Miss Earth only. It should be a topic for everybody, from all pageants, Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International,” continued Henry, the first Filipino woman to be crowned Miss Earth.
Several other international pageants have adopted environmental awareness as their primary advocacy, among them the Miss Eco International, Miss Planet International and Miss Environment International competitions.
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Henry welcomed this and sees it as a progressive step for the movement. “The environment affects us all. So it should be a conversation for all,” she said.
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She also shared how the pageant has impacted her life since winning the crown 16 years ago. “The wonderful people I worked with, from the [Miss Earth] Foundation to the people in the private sector I met, in the government sector I met, really changed my perspective of how I should be living my life. I’m not the perfect environmentalist, and I will never claim to be, but I do claim that my eyes have been open since Miss Earth,” Henry explained.
When asked what for her is the pageant’s biggest contribution, she cited the women who have graced the competition stage. “It doesn’t matter if you won, or you have a crown, or you were one of the fortunate ones to have just joined the pageant, that doesn’t matter. The women who have always come and gone are the legacy of Miss Earth, and what they stood for and what they keep fighting for is the legacy of Miss Earth,” she said.
After Henry, three more Filipino women were crowned titleholders—Jamie Herrell and Angelia Ong in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and Karen Ibaso in 2017.
The current titleholder is Drita Ziri, the first-ever major international pageant winner from Albania, who is set to crown her successor at the culmination of the coronation program in Parañaque City tonight, Nov. 9.
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