Anrhydeddu arweinydd blaenllaw yn yr ymgyrch i ddileu polio

Yr Arglwydd Thomas o Gwmgiedd yn cyflwyno'r ymgyrchydd yn erbyn polio Judith Diment yn Gymrawd

Yr Arglwydd Thomas o Gwmgiedd yn cyflwyno'r ymgyrchydd yn erbyn polio Judith Diment yn Gymrawd

Cyflwynwyd Cymrodoriaeth er Anrhydedd o Brifysgol Aberystwyth i arweinydd blaenllaw yn yr ymgyrch i ddileu polio yn rhan o’i dathliadau graddio.

Mae Judith Diment, a astudiodd ddaeareg a daearyddiaeth yn Aberystwyth, wedi bod yn amlwg ar lefel fyd-eang yn yr ymgyrch i gael gwared ar bolio ers dau ddegawd a mwy.

Mae’n Gydlynydd Tasglu Eiriolaeth Dileu Polio y Rotari Rhyngwladol, yn Gynghorydd Eiriolaeth Cenedlaethol y DU ar gyfer Polio, yn aelod o Bwyllgor PolioPlus Rhyngwladol y Rotari (IPPC), ac yn cadeirio Is-bwyllgor Grantiau yr IPPC. 

Mae wedi trefnu llu o ddigwyddiadau eiriolaeth a chyfryngau ym maes polio yn Senedd y DU, Senedd Ewrop a Thŷ Chatham, ac wedi gweithio mewn swyddi uchel ym maes marchnata a chyfathrebu, gan gynnwys yn yr Amgueddfa Astudiaethau Natur yn Llundain.

Yn 2016 cafodd ei hethol yn gynghorydd ar gyfer Bwrdeistref Brenhinol Windsor a Maidenhead.

Yn yr un flwyddyn, cyflwynwyd gwobr “Service-Above-Self” y rotari iddi, yr anrhydedd fwyaf a roddir i Rotariaid sy’n gwirfoddoli eu hamser a’u doniau i helpu eraill.

Cyflwynwyd Judith Diment gan yr Athro Chris Thomas, Dirprwy Is-Ganghellor Ymchwil, Gwybodaeth ac Arloesi ym Mhrifysgol Aberystwyth, ddydd Gwener 19 Gorffennaf 2019.

Mae’r cyflwyniad ar gael isod, yn yr iaith y’i traddodwyd.

Cyflwyno Judith Diment gan yr Athro Chris Thomas:

Ganghellor, Is-Ganghellor, graddedigion a chyfeillion. Pleser o’r mwyaf yw cyflwyno Judith Diment yn gymrawd Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, graduates and supporters.  It is an honour and a privilege to present Judith Diment as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.

Judith Diment, who was born into a Welsh farming family, graduated in geology and geography at Aberystwyth. 

She has gone on to be an award-winning businesswoman, extraordinary fundraiser, global campaigner, international event manager, experienced lecturer, published author, and a passionate advocate for polio eradication.

Judith ran an independent award-winning Thames Valley public relations consultancy and held senior positions in marketing and communications for over 30 years.

It was through her public relations work that Judith first became involved with Rotary in the 1990s, and she joined her first Rotary Club in 2004.

Through Rotary, Judith has been an advocate for polio eradication for more than 20 years.

She now leads Rotary’s UK advocacy efforts, constantly fighting to raise the profile of polio with politicians and governments across the globe.

She is currently the Coordinator of the Rotary International Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force, a UK National Advocacy Adviser for Polio and a member of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee (IPPC).

She Chairs the IPPC Grants Sub-Committee which recommends essential grants to WHO and Unicef up to $150m annually to fund technical assistance staff, vaccinators, social mobilisation; transportation, and communication: a truly global effort to eradicate the disease.

She has organised numerous polio advocacy and media events at Houses of Parliament, European Parliament and Chatham House.

In February 2008, Judith arranged for the now familiar catchphrase “END POLIO NOW” to be beamed onto the Palace of Westminster.  Photos of the spectacular light installation went viral, and it became the global brand of Rotary International’s initiative to encourage the world to get behind the final push to eradicate polio from the four remaining endemic countries, and has since been projected onto dozens of iconic buildings around the world. 

In 2016 she received the “Rotary Service-Above-Self Award” from the President of Rotary International, Ravi Ravindran.  This is the highest honour bestowed to Rotarians who volunteer their time and talents to help others.

A tireless advocate for this cause, in 2017, Judith led Rotary’s efforts to create champions for polio eradication among UK political leaders, resulting in the UK committing an additional £100 million to the global initiative.

And it is not surprising that when, last year, Rotary International marked its celebration of “30 Years of Women in Rotary” by naming 30 incredible members who have served and led by example, Judith was among the women chosen.

Thanks largely to the work of Rotary International over the last three decades, polio looks set to go from being a widely occurring infectious disease, to becoming only the second infectious disease to be eradicated in human beings, since smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980.

Judith Diment has played a significant part in this amazing success story.

Ganghellor, mae’n bleser gen i gyflwyno Judith Diment i chi yn Gymrawd. 

Chancellor, it is my absolute pleasure to present Judith Diment to you as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.

Anrhydeddau Prifysgol Aberystwyth 2019

Bydd Prifysgol Aberystwyth yn anrhydeddu naw o bobl yn ystod seremonïau graddio 2019, a gynhelir yng Nghanolfan Gelfyddydau’r Brifysgol rhwng dydd Mawrth 16 Gorffennaf a dydd Gwener 19 Gorffennaf.

Cyflwynir Cymrodoriaethau er Anrhydedd i unigolion sydd â chysylltiad ag Aberystwyth neu Gymru, ac sydd wedi gwneud cyfraniad eithriadol yn eu dewis faes.

Dyma Gymrodyr er Anrhydedd Prifysgol Aberystwyth 2019 (yn y drefn y’u cyflwynir):

  • Alan Phillips, athro cerdd peripatetig wedi ymddeol a fu’n gweithio i Wasanaeth Cerdd Ceredigion am 35 mlynedd
  • Yr Athro Frank N. Hogg OBE, Pennaeth sefydlol Coleg Llyfrgellyddiaeth Cymru
  • Ruth Bidgood, bardd a hanesydd lleol
  • Yr Athro R Geoff Richards, Cyfarwyddwr Sefydliad Ymchwil AO Davos (y Swisdir) – un o’r sefydliadau ymchwil sy’n arwain y byd ym maes orthopaedeg
  • Emyr Jenkins, Cyfarwyddwr cyntaf yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol a Phrif Weithredwr (wedi ymddeol) Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru
  • Yr Athro Virginia Gamba, arbenigwraig ym maes diarfogi a llunio polisi
  • Ian Hopwood, a fu’n gweithio ym maes datblygu ers dros 40 mlynedd ym Mhencadlys UNICEF ac mewn aseiniadau maes yn Affrica, Asia, a Thaleithiau’r Gwlff Arabaidd
  • Y Gwir Anrh Carwyn Jones AC, cyn-Brif Weinidog Cymru a chyn-Arweinydd y Blaid Lafur yng Nghymru 2009-18
  • Judith Diment, sy’n amlwg yn fyd-eang yn yr ymgyrch i gael gwared ar bolio