BBC International Correspondent Orla Guerin named 2026 Women of Concern Honouree

Irish journalist and Senior International Correspondent with BBC News, Orla Guerin, has been selected as this year’s Women of Concern honouree.

Throughout her nearly 40-year career, Orla has worked for RTÉ and the BBC, reporting from active conflict zones, and on the human impact of those conflicts.

Her work has brought her to countries such as Yemen, Ukraine, Venezuela, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Pakistan where she has brought stories of human resilience and strength from the most difficult of circumstances to the rest of the world.

Orla was just 23 years old when she became RTÉ’s youngest foreign correspondent, reporting from Eastern Europe as it faced huge geopolitical change during the early 1990’s.

She joined the BBC in 1995, where she rose through the ranks to Senior International correspondent, conducting high profile interviews with international leaders including the former president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

“It is very precious to get this recognition, and I’m very grateful for it because what it says to me, is that people have watched and listened to the stories,” she said

“It’s never just me, it’s always a team, we’ve made people aware of what is happening often on the other side of the world.

“In that sense, it’s absolutely great to get recognition, but there are many, many people – both in the aid sector and in the media – who do this work every single day who don’t get recognition, but they carry on doing it anyway,” said Orla about being named as this year’s honouree.

Orla has received many awards in Ireland, UK, USA, France and Italy for her work, including the Royal Television Society, Television Journalist of the Year 2018, and MBE (Hons) for Services to Broadcasting.

She has been awarded honorary degrees from nine universities in both the UK and Ireland, among them TU Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Ulster, NUI, Galway and UCD.  She is Honorary Professor of International Journalism at NUI, Galway,

“Orla’s reporting from many of the countries in which Concern works – such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Afghanistan, and Ukraine – has brought global attention to some of the most challenging and neglected crises.

“Her compassion and empathetic storytelling ensures that viewers understand that behind every news story are human beings, often going through some of the worst moments of their lives.

“Orla is a very worthy representative of the values that Concern holds dear and encompasses what a Women of Concern honouree stands for,” said Dominic Crowley, chief executive of Concern.

The annual Women of Concern event, now in its eighth year, pays tribute to inspiring women and role models who embody justice, generosity and compassion in their work and daily lives.

Today’s event at the Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin, is again sponsored this year by professional services firm EY.

The event raises awareness amongst the business community in Ireland, of Concern’s humanitarian work and the issues facing people in lower-income countries.

It raises essential funds for Concern’s work in 24 countries, supporting the global drive towards gender equality, a persistent and major obstacle to ending extreme poverty.

Previous Women of Concern honourees include, among others, Berabose Aline Joyce, FemTech entrepreneur; Dr. Salome Mbugua, human rights advocate; Ifrah Ahmed, Irish/Somali activist and campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM); Irish Ambassador to the US and former Ambassador to the United Nations, Geraldine Byrne Nason; and peace activist and human rights defender, Professor Monica McWilliams.

In 2025, Concern reached 23 million people in 27 countries, through its emergency, livelihoods, health and nutrition, and education programmes.