The 2017 laureate will be selected by a seven-member award committee and honored at the annual Henley & Partners Global Residence and Citizenship Conference, which will be held this year in Hong Kong on Thursday, 16 November 2017.
Paola De Leo, Henley & Partners’ head of philanthropy, says the committee is looking for an inspirational individual who demonstrates extraordinary vision, courage and commitment in contributing to the advancement of a global issue, whether this is social, political or environmental. “Global issues are defined by the United Nations as issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. They require a concerted action at a global level by governments, international organisations and civil society. The awardee’s work should not remain purely academic, but needs to demonstrate a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable groups in society,” she says.
The selection process is confidential and made by a majority decision. The award itself consists of a specially made commemorative medal, an award certificate signed by the president of the award committee and a $50,000 monetary prize, of which $25,000 is used in support of the longstanding partnership between Henley & Partners and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Since its inception in 2015, the Global Citizen Award has honoured two worthy recipients. The first laureate was German entrepreneur Harald Höppner who founded the refugee humanitarian aid project Sea Watch which has rescued many thousands of desperate migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach European Union shores. Over the past year, Sea Watch has raised more than €1m in donations, purchased a new rescue ship, bought a new plane that facilitates the search for castaways, and has launched a second rescue base on the Greek island of Lesbos.
In 2016, the Global Citizen Award honoured humanitarian and founder of the Gift of the Givers Foundation Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. Since the start of the foundation in August 1992, Dr Sooliman has grown the Gift of the Givers into Africa’s largest disaster relief organisation, raising more than $155m in life-saving aid for 42 countries around the world. His team of 200 provides medical assistance, equipment, supplies, food and water to millions of people each year.
De Leo says both previous awardees have been in some way connected to the refugee cause but Henley & Partners would welcome nominations from anyone who is making a significant impact on the world’s most vulnerable communities. “Forced migration and refugees have for many years been the focus of our philanthropy efforts, but equally relevant global causes that we would like to honour would be women and girls’ empowerment and child welfare, climate change, as well as water and food security.”
To submit nominations for the 2017 Global Citizen Award, go to henleyglobal.com/the-global-citizen-award. Nominations close on 31 July 2017.
