Honoring Franca Sozzani: Charity Gala Raises Funds for Genetic Medicine at Iconic Museum

The Franca Fund, the organization founded in honor of iconic fashion editor Franca Sozzani, held a charity gala in conjunction with M7, Qatar’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion and technology, where it raised more than $4 million, which it will dedicate to preventive genomics research, its main objective. The fundraiser raised more than four million dollars for research into preventive genomics, the foundation’s main objective.

The Franca Sozzani Fund was founded in honor of the career and legacy of Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief at Vogue Italia from 1988 until her death in 2016. The entity promotes equitable access to genetic medicine.

The gala, which was held at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art, raised funds to boost research in preventive genomics, one of the branches of medicine that analyzes people’s DNA to identify risks of hereditary diseases or predispositions to certain conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

“The Franca Fund was born from the same intrepid and tireless spirit of my mother, who thought that health, like creativity, should not be a privilege, but a right,“ said Francesco Carrozzini, co-founder of the Franca Sozzani Fund for Preventive Genomics and Sozzani’s son.

The Franca Fund raised more than $4 million during the gala, which will go to research

The Franca Fund raised more than $4 million, which will directly support the Franca Fund’s work and its goal: to support preventive genomics research programs at Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham, a not-for-profit health system in the United States.

“We come together to honor the vision of Franca Sozzani, who used fashion to provoke, to address difficult issues and to give voice to the voiceless,“ said Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairwoman of Qatar Museums, co-chairwoman of Fashion Trust Arabia and a member of Qatar’s royal family.

The event took place as Qatar celebrates its cultural journey of the past 50 years with Evolution Nation, a celebration that highlights both the nation’s cultural milestones and its aspirations for the future.