The Asia Society has announced this year’s recipients of the Asia Game Changer Awards, which recognize those making a transformative and positive difference for the future of Asia and the world.

Aisholpan Nurgaiv, a Mongolian Kazakh girl is to receive the Asia Game Changer Lifetime Achievement Award. She was awarded the accolade for breaking gender barriers at a remarkably young age.

What resulted was the documentary ‘The Eagle Huntress’, and the first steps on a remarkable journey for a young girl. The film chronicles Aisholpan’s quest to enter the challenging, male-dominated field of eagle hunting, a Mongolian pastime in which skilled trainers teach golden eagles to hunt for wild animals. The documentary follows Aisholpan to the highly competitive Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan Ulgii, where she became both the youngest contestant and the first female ever to take part.