Miss Earth 2003

Miss Earth 2003
Date	November 9, 2003
Presenters	Ariel Ureta Sarah Meir Pia Guanio Phoemela Barranda
Venue	University of the Philippines Theater, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Broadcaster	ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel Star World
Entrants	57
Placements	10
Debuts	Afghanistan Antigua and Barbuda Cyprus Ecuador France Israel Slovenia Sweden Tahiti Ukraine Vietnam
Withdrawals	Albania Barbados Czech Republic Egypt El Salvador Great Britain Greece Nepal Paraguay Spain Tanzania Uganda
Returns	Brazil Japan New Zealand South Africa
Winner	Dania Prince Honduras
Congeniality	Yodit Getahun, Ethiopia
Best National Costume	Jessica Doralis Segui, Panama
Photogenic	Claudia Cecilia Azaeda, Bolivia
← 2002 2004 →

Miss Earth 2003 was the third edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on November 9, 2003.^[1]

Winfred Omwakwe of Kenya crowned Dania Prince of Honduras as her successor the end of the event. Brazil's Pricila Zandona was selected Miss Air 2003, Costa Rica's Marianela Zeledon Bolanos was chosen Miss Water 2003, and Poland's Marta Matyjasik was Miss Fire 2003.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Beauty for a Cause Award was awarded to Vida Samadzai the first Afghan woman to compete in an international beauty pageant in almost three decades, for helping found a US-based women's charity that seeks to raise awareness of women's rights and education in Afghanistan by "symbolizing the newfound confidence, courage and spirit of today’s women and representing the victory of women’s rights and various social, personal and religious struggles".^[12][13]

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Placement	Contestant
Miss Earth 2003	Honduras – Dania Prince
Miss Earth – Air 2003	Brazil – Priscila Poleselo Zandoná
Miss Earth – Water 2003	Costa Rica – Marianela Zeledón
Miss Earth – Fire 2003	Poland – Marta Matyjasik
Top 10	Cyprus – Krystiana Aristotelou  Guatemala – Marie Claire Palacios Bouefgras  Norway – Faith Larsson  Philippines – Laura Marie Dunlap  Serbia and Montenegro – Katarina Vucetic  Tahiti – Vairupe Pater Huioutu

Awards	Contestant
Miss Friendship	Ethiopia – Yodit Getahun
Miss Photogenic	Bolivia – Claudia Cecilia Azaeda
Miss Talent	Bosnia and Herzegovina – Mirela Bulbulija
Best in National Costume	Panama – Jessica Doralis Segui †
Best in Evening Gown	Brazil – Priscila Poleselo Zandoná
Best in Swimsuit	France – Jennifer Pichard
Beauty for a Cause	Afghanistan – Vida Samadzai

Awards	Contestant
Miss Avon Color	Honduras – Dania Prince
Miss Close-up Smile	Brazil – Priscila Poleselo Zandoná
Miss Cream Silk 100% Super Beautiful Hair	Costa Rica – Marianela Zeledón Bolaños
Miss Ponds Beautiful Skin	Honduras – Dania Prince
Miss Sunsilk Beautiful Hair	Philippines – Laura Marie Dunlap

Final Question in Miss Earth 2003: "At the end of each rainbow, so the saying goes, is a pot of gold. As a woman of the earth, instead of a pot of gold, what else would you rather find at the end of the rainbow?"

Winning Answer of Miss Earth 2003: "Honestly, there are things that are much more important than gold. For me personally, the most important is the sentiments of the people. To give love and smile to a human being, to be able to give them a hand when needed, to give help to someone who needs your presence, and also God is always with us which is very important. The first thing I think when I open my eyes is heaven. When we have Him in our hearts and mind, everything is better. And I can see people how they really are inside, not if they have gold or not. For me the rainbow means life, God and happiness." - Dania Prince, represented Honduras.^[14]

The following is the list of the nine-member board of judges of Miss Earth 2003:^[14]

No.	Judge	Background
1	Jose Cayetano da Silva	Ambassador of Portugal to the Philippines
2	Evangeline Pascual	Miss World Philippines 1973
3	Inno Sotto	Premier Fashion Designer
4	Chito Macapagal	General Manager of Unilever Philippines
5	Patricia Tancheong	Senior Vice President of Air Philippines
6	Chin Chin Gutierrez	TIME Magazine 2003 Asian hero
7	Stefan Voogel	General Manager of Hotel Intercontinental Manila
8	Paul Lancos	Beauty Expert, Vice President of Avon
9	Elisea Gozun	Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

List of countries/territories and delegates that participated in Miss Earth 2003:^[15]

•  Serbia & Montenegro is technically new, as it was designated in the previous years as "Yugoslavia".

Last competed in 2001:

• •  Brazil
  •  Japan
  •  New Zealand
  •  South Africa

•  Bosnia and Herzegovina: Won Miss Talent for two years in a row.
•  Honduras: Dania Prince also competed at Miss Universe in 1998. She was unplaced in Hawaii and the pageant was won by Wendy Fitzwilliam. Then, she became the first Honduran woman to win Miss Earth in the Philippines 5 years later.
•  Panama: On September 27, 2010, Jessica Segui died in a Panamanian Hospital due to cerebral aneurysm.
•  USA: On November 27, 2003, Jessica Schilling died at the age of 19 in a car crash in Palm Springs, California.

• Newsweek: Kuntzman, Gersh.American Beat: Beauty is a Beast. Published on November 3, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Associated Press. Miss Afghanistan wins award at Miss Earth contest. Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Los Angeles Times: Main News. Justice Official Criticizes Beauty Contestant. Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Sky News United Kingdom: Bikini Beauty Queen Faces Backlash. Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Rediff India: Agencies. Miss Afghanistan is 'beauty for a cause' Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Deseret News: The Salt Lake City, UT First Afghan in three decades to take part in a beauty pageant. Published on November 9, 2003. November 9, 2003 Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Tribune- Pittsburg: The Associated Press. Beauty's bikini agitates Afghan prosecutors^{[permanent dead link‍]}. Published on November 9, 2003. November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Philadelphia Daily News: Online News. Uh oh! Miss Afghanistan broke the law?. Published on November 9, 2003. November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Sunday Register Guard: Eugene, Oregon. Red bikini catches Afghans' attention. Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Bangor Daily News- Washington. Associated Press. Miss Afghanistan wins beauty contest award. Published on November 9, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• New Straits Times: Associated Press. Miss Afghanistan Wins Special Award In Miss Earth Pageant. Published on November 11, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Spokesman-Review: Fowler, Jonathan. Miss Afghanistan faces charges if she returns. Published on November 10, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• Xinhua News Agency: chinaview.cn: Miss Afghanistan stirs criticism from home country. Published on October 207, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Indian Express: Constable, Pamela .Barely bearable. Published on November 2, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Toronto Star: De Castro, Erik/Reuters. Afghanistan Top court censures expatriate beauty pageant. Published on November 2, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009
• The Washington Post/Island Packet: Woman's Appearance In Pageant Sparks Debate. Published on October 31, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2009

• Official website
• Miss Earth Foundation
• Miss Earth Foundation Kids' I Love My Planet