HONOURING
CHANGEMAKERS
FROM THE MARGINS.

Eligible nominees must meet the age range published for the category.

Unless otherwise stated in the official category announcement, the recommended age range is:

9–24 years at the nomination deadline.

The nominee must demonstrate genuine advocacy, leadership, initiative, or community action.

Age alone does not constitute merit.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, grassroots groups, community-based organizations, or organized collectives actively advocating for change on issues affecting their communities or wider society.

Nominees must demonstrate a clear advocacy objective, meaningful engagement with the people or communities concerned, and evidence of action contributing to awareness, participation, accountability, access, or positive change.

Advocacy may take place through public engagement, community organizing, campaigns, dialogue, education, or other constructive approaches. Public visibility or the size of a campaign is not a requirement.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, collectives, legal or rights-based initiatives, and organizations advancing human rights, social justice, equality, dignity, or access to justice.

Nominees must demonstrate sustained or meaningful action addressing a clearly identifiable rights or justice issue, with credible evidence of their contribution to improved awareness, protection, access, accountability, participation, or institutional response.

Eligible work may include community-based rights education, legal empowerment, anti-discrimination initiatives, restorative justice, and other rights-based approaches.

Nominees must demonstrate respect for human dignity, non-discrimination, and ethical engagement with the people whose rights they seek to advance.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, citizen-led groups, civic initiatives, and organizations promoting constructive public participation and civic responsibility.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful action that enables people to participate in public life, engage with institutions, address shared concerns, or contribute to community and societal decision-making.

Eligible activities may include civic education, community consultations, public-interest initiatives, citizen participation, accountability efforts, and constructive dialogue.

Nominees must demonstrate that their work has a clear public-interest purpose and credible evidence of community engagement or civic contribution.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, networks, coalitions, grassroots movements, or organizations that bring people together around a shared purpose.

Nominees must demonstrate an ability to mobilize people, build relationships, establish shared direction, and sustain collective action toward a clearly identified social, environmental, cultural, economic, or community objective.

Evidence may include the formation or strengthening of a movement, sustained participation, effective collaboration, shared leadership, or meaningful progress toward collective goals.

Recognition is based on the quality and contribution of movement-building, not membership numbers or geographic reach alone.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, advocacy coalitions, civil society organizations, research-led advocacy initiatives, or other changemakers working to influence policies, institutions, or systems.

Nominees must demonstrate a credible contribution to policy development, implementation, reform, institutional accountability, or changes in the systems that shape a particular challenge.

Eligible work may include policy advocacy, public consultation, evidence-based campaigns, institutional reform, community-led policy engagement, or initiatives addressing structural barriers.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of their contribution and distinguish their role from the work of other stakeholders. Adoption of a policy or completion of a reform is not required where meaningful progress and influence can be demonstrated.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, grassroots environmental groups, community organizations, or advocacy initiatives advancing environmental protection and sustainability.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful action addressing an identifiable environmental challenge, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, deforestation, land degradation, waste, water security, or climate-related risks.

Eligible activities may include environmental advocacy, community mobilization, conservation campaigns, environmental education, citizen action, and initiatives promoting environmental accountability.

Nominees must demonstrate credible evidence of environmental engagement, community participation, or progress toward positive environmental change. Work that combines environmental protection with social or community benefits is eligible.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, community-based organizations, peacebuilding initiatives, dialogue platforms, or collaborative networks working to strengthen peaceful coexistence.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful efforts to prevent or address conflict, build trust, promote dialogue, reduce social divisions, or strengthen constructive relationships among individuals or communities.

Eligible work may include community mediation, intergenerational dialogue, reconciliation, conflict prevention, peace education, and initiatives that bring together people across social, cultural, or other differences.

Nominees must demonstrate ethical engagement, respect for diversity, and credible evidence of their contribution to peace or social cohesion.

Eligible nominees may include individual artists, creative collectives, cultural practitioners, creative organizations, or multidisciplinary teams whose work contributes to meaningful positive change.

Nominees must demonstrate how their creative practice, production, or expression addresses a relevant social, environmental, cultural, economic, or community need.

Eligible work may include visual arts, literature, music, photography, film, crafts, and other creative disciplines. Nominees should provide evidence of the work's purpose, originality, audience or community engagement, and contribution to positive impact.

The award recognizes the contribution and impact of creative work rather than commercial success or artistic visibility alone.

Eligible nominees may include individual storytellers, writers, journalists, filmmakers, oral historians, content creators, and storytelling collectives whose work advances meaningful change.

Nominees must demonstrate how their storytelling communicates important experiences, elevates underrepresented perspectives, challenges harmful narratives, or inspires constructive action.

Eligible work may include written, spoken, visual, documentary, oral, and digital storytelling.

Nominees must provide examples of their storytelling and credible evidence of its contribution to awareness, understanding, dialogue, community connection, or positive change. Accuracy, consent, cultural sensitivity, and ethical representation must be considered where relevant.

Eligible nominees may include cultural practitioners, artists, heritage organizations, community collectives, custodians of traditional knowledge, and individuals or groups engaged in cultural preservation or development.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful creative or cultural work that preserves, revitalizes, documents, shares, or advances cultural heritage, identity, knowledge, or community connection.

Eligible activities may include cultural preservation, traditional arts, indigenous knowledge initiatives, heritage education, cultural documentation, and contemporary creative interpretations of heritage.

Nominees must demonstrate respect for cultural integrity, appropriate community participation, and credible evidence of the work's cultural or community contribution. Commercialization alone does not establish eligibility.

Eligible nominees may include journalists, media professionals, independent media producers, media collectives, community broadcasters, and media organizations producing work in the public interest.

Nominees must demonstrate how their media work contributes to awareness, public understanding, informed dialogue, accountability, inclusion, or constructive action on a meaningful issue.

Eligible work may include investigative reporting, documentaries, community media, educational programming, public-interest campaigns, radio, television, print, and digital media.

Nominees must provide examples of their work and credible evidence of its relevance and contribution. Accuracy, editorial integrity, responsible representation, and ethical media practice are essential considerations.

Eligible nominees may include individual designers, design collectives, design studios, social design initiatives, or multidisciplinary teams applying design to meaningful challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate how their design approach, product, service, environment, or communication addresses an identifiable need and creates practical, social, environmental, cultural, or community value.

Eligible work may include product design, service design, inclusive design, architecture, communication design, sustainable design, and human-centered design.

Nominees should provide evidence of the design's purpose, usability, accessibility, implementation, or contribution to positive change. A concept may be considered where its feasibility and potential contribution are credibly demonstrated, but unsubstantiated ideas alone are insufficient.

Eligible nominees may include artists, creative collectives, cultural organizations, community arts initiatives, or creative practitioners using their work to strengthen community relationships and participation.

Nominees must demonstrate how their creative practice enables people to connect, participate, collaborate, express themselves, or contribute to shared community life.

Eligible activities may include community arts, participatory creative projects, cultural gatherings, creative learning, collaborative productions, and initiatives that make creative opportunities more accessible.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of meaningful community participation, inclusion, and the contribution of their creative work to stronger community relationships or collective wellbeing.

Eligible nominees may include individual performers, performing arts groups, theater companies, dance ensembles, musicians, spoken-word artists, performance collectives, and organizations working in the performing arts.

Nominees must demonstrate how their performance-based work contributes to meaningful cultural, social, or community impact.

Eligible disciplines may include theater, dance, music, spoken word, storytelling, and other live or recorded performance practices.

Nominees must provide evidence of their work and its contribution to cultural expression, public engagement, awareness, inclusion, dialogue, or community connection. Professional status and commercial recognition are not prerequisites.

Eligible nominees may include individual digital creators, online storytellers, independent content producers, creative teams, or digital media collectives using digital platforms for meaningful changemaking.

Nominees must demonstrate how their digital content, creative expression, or platform-based activities contribute to awareness, knowledge, inclusion, community engagement, or constructive action.

Eligible work may include educational content, digital storytelling, multimedia campaigns, creative advocacy, and other forms of digital expression.

Nominees must provide examples of their work and credible evidence of meaningful contribution. Follower counts, engagement metrics, and platform popularity may provide context but do not, on their own, establish eligibility or impact.

The nominee must be under 35 years of age at the nomination deadline, unless the official category announcement states otherwise.

The nominee must demonstrate meaningful entrepreneurial activity and evidence of value creation and impact.

The venture must ordinarily have been operating for five years or less as of the published eligibility date.

The venture must demonstrate:

• a defined problem or opportunity;
• a credible solution;
• an identifiable operating model;
• evidence of traction, implementation, or early results;
• and a credible pathway toward sustained impact.

A newly registered company with no substantive activity is not automatically eligible simply because it meets the age requirement.

The nominee must demonstrate that social or environmental purpose is materially integrated into the organization's operating model.

Corporate philanthropy or occasional charitable donations alone do not constitute a social enterprise.

Eligible organizations may be established companies demonstrating that social, environmental, cultural, or community value is meaningfully integrated into their operations, governance, products, services, workforce, supply chain, or strategic direction.

The category is not determined by company size alone.

Eligible nominees may include entrepreneurs, businesses, social enterprises, cooperatives, or other ventures that create meaningful employment opportunities through their entrepreneurial activities.

Nominees must demonstrate actual employment creation or credible evidence of substantial progress toward creating sustainable jobs.

Eligible employment may include full-time, part-time, formal, or other locally relevant forms of work, provided the nature and quality of the opportunities are clearly explained.

Assessment should consider the additional value of the jobs created, including fair employment practices, inclusion, skills development, decent working conditions, and opportunities for people facing barriers to employment.

Job creation claims must be supported by credible evidence. Projected employment alone is insufficient unless the official category announcement explicitly permits it.

Eligible nominees may include businesses, social enterprises, cooperatives, and other entrepreneurial ventures that meaningfully integrate inclusion into their products, services, workforce, supply chains, ownership, or operating models.

Nominees must demonstrate how their enterprise addresses barriers to economic participation, access, opportunity, or representation.

Eligible work may include inclusive employment, accessible products and services, economic empowerment, inclusive supply chains, or enterprise models that expand opportunities for underserved communities.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of meaningful implementation and explain how inclusion is embedded in the enterprise rather than limited to occasional activities or public commitments.

Eligible nominees may include individual investors, investment firms, foundations, funds, financial institutions, or other entities intentionally directing capital toward measurable or demonstrable positive impact.

Nominees must demonstrate a clear intention to generate positive social, environmental, cultural, economic, or community value through their investment activities.

Eligible contributions may include impact investment, patient capital, catalytic funding, blended finance, or other investment approaches supporting purpose-driven ventures and initiatives.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of their investment approach, the purpose of their capital allocation, and the contribution made toward intended impact. Donations or conventional investments without a demonstrable impact intention do not automatically qualify.

Eligible nominees must demonstrate substantive activities that strengthen the capacity, connectivity, sustainability, or growth of changemakers and purpose-driven ventures.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of the support provided, the communities or ventures served, and the contribution of their programs, networks, or services to the ecosystem.

Organizations offering occasional events or general networking without evidence of substantive ecosystem-building activity do not automatically qualify.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, community groups, grassroots initiatives, community-based organizations, or collaborative teams that have initiated activities addressing identifiable community needs.

Nominees must demonstrate a clear purpose, meaningful community involvement, and evidence of action taken to address the identified need.

Eligible initiatives may be newly established or ongoing, provided they demonstrate substantive activity and credible progress appropriate to their stage of development.

Nominees must show that their initiatives respond to community priorities and demonstrate accountability to the people they seek to serve.

Eligible nominees must be individuals who demonstrate meaningful leadership in strengthening communities and advancing collective wellbeing.

Nominees must demonstrate how their leadership mobilizes people, encourages participation, builds trust, resolves shared challenges, or enables constructive community action.

Eligible leadership may be formal or informal, including volunteer, traditional, youth, community, and locally rooted leadership.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of their contribution, demonstrating integrity, accountability, and respect for community participation. Formal titles or institutional positions are not prerequisites.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, grassroots initiatives, community-based organizations, local collectives, or community-led enterprises whose work originates in and responds directly to the needs of the communities they serve.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful local engagement, community participation, and credible evidence of positive change arising from their work.

Eligible contributions may include community empowerment, livelihoods, education, environmental action, social inclusion, local development, and other forms of locally driven changemaking.

Nominees must demonstrate a genuine connection to the communities concerned and provide evidence of their contribution. Large budgets, formal institutional status, and international recognition are not prerequisites.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, founding teams, or institutional leaders who have established or substantially strengthened organizations, institutions, or enduring structures that serve a meaningful public, social, environmental, cultural, or community purpose.

Nominees must demonstrate a substantive contribution to building institutional capacity, governance, leadership, systems, sustainability, or long-term effectiveness.

Eligible institutions may include nonprofits, community organizations, educational institutions, social enterprises, networks, and other purpose-driven institutions.

Nominees must provide credible evidence that their contribution has strengthened the institution's ability to fulfill its purpose and create lasting value. Merely holding a senior position or being associated with an institution does not establish eligibility.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, youth-led groups, educational initiatives, community organizations, nonprofits, or other institutions implementing meaningful youth development activities.

Nominees must demonstrate how their work equips young people with skills, knowledge, opportunities, confidence, leadership capacity, or access to resources that support their development and participation in society.

Eligible activities may include mentorship, leadership development, skills training, entrepreneurship education, career readiness, youth participation, and initiatives addressing barriers to opportunity.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful youth engagement and provide credible evidence of the contribution of their work to young people's development. Initiatives must uphold the dignity, safety, and meaningful participation of young people.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, educators, educational institutions, community learning initiatives, nonprofit organizations, or other changemakers advancing educational opportunities and outcomes.

Nominees must demonstrate how their work addresses an identifiable educational need and contributes to meaningful improvements in learning, access, participation, quality, inclusion, or educational opportunity.

Eligible work may include formal and nonformal education, community learning, alternative education, literacy, digital learning, inclusive education, teacher development, and innovative educational approaches.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of their educational contribution, taking into account the context, resources, and stage of development of their work. Formal accreditation is not a universal prerequisite where the initiative's educational contribution can be credibly demonstrated.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, community health initiatives, nonprofit organizations, healthcare institutions, public-interest programs, or other initiatives contributing to health and wellbeing.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful activities addressing an identifiable health or wellbeing need and provide credible evidence of their contribution to access, prevention, awareness, care, support, or improved community wellbeing.

Eligible work may include community health education, preventive care, mental wellbeing support, public health initiatives, accessible health services, nutrition, and community-based care.

Nominees must demonstrate responsible and ethical practice appropriate to the nature of their work. Where medical or public health claims are made, supporting evidence and appropriate professional standards should be provided.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, community-based organizations, local initiatives, networks, or collaborative partnerships that strengthen community resilience.

Nominees must demonstrate meaningful action that helps communities anticipate, prepare for, respond to, or recover from social, economic, environmental, health, or other challenges.

Eligible activities may include disaster preparedness, livelihood diversification, community resource mobilization, environmental adaptation, social support networks, local capacity building, and community-led recovery.

Nominees must demonstrate community participation and credible evidence of strengthened preparedness, adaptability, recovery, or long-term resilience. Work may be recognized for meaningful progress even where communities continue to face significant challenges.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, innovators, research teams, organizations, enterprises, or collaborative initiatives developing or applying innovative approaches to meaningful challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate the originality, relevance, or significant adaptation of their innovation and explain how it addresses an identifiable social, environmental, cultural, economic, or community need.

Eligible innovations may be technological or non-technological, including new methods, products, services, processes, and models.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of development, testing, implementation, or a clearly substantiated pathway toward impact. Innovation does not have to be commercially successful or technologically complex to qualify.

Eligible nominees may include technology innovators, developers, entrepreneurs, research teams, organizations, or collaborative initiatives applying technology to meaningful challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate how their technological solution addresses a clearly identifiable need and contributes to positive social, environmental, cultural, economic, or community value.

Eligible technologies may include digital platforms, artificial intelligence applications, assistive technologies, renewable energy technologies, agricultural technologies, health technologies, and other relevant technological solutions.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of the technology's functionality, application, accessibility, or potential for meaningful impact. Responsible use, affordability, inclusion, and the context in which the technology is deployed should be considered.

Eligible nominees may include researchers, academics, knowledge practitioners, independent investigators, research institutions, community researchers, or collaborative research teams.

Nominees must demonstrate how their research, knowledge creation, dissemination, or application addresses a meaningful challenge or contributes to improved understanding, decision-making, practice, or positive change.

Eligible contributions may include academic research, applied research, indigenous and local knowledge, participatory research, community-led knowledge production, and the practical application of research findings.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of their work and its contribution. Formal academic affiliation or publication in a scholarly journal is not a universal prerequisite where the quality, relevance, and contribution of the research can otherwise be substantiated.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, enterprises, research teams, organizations, or collaborative initiatives developing or implementing innovative responses to climate-related challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate how their innovation addresses climate mitigation, climate adaptation, resilience, or related environmental challenges.

Eligible innovations may include renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable mobility, climate adaptation tools, carbon reduction approaches, nature-based solutions, and other relevant innovations.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of the innovation's development, application, or expected contribution, with claims of climate or environmental benefits supported by appropriate evidence.

The category recognizes both locally developed and wider-reaching solutions. International scale or advanced technology is not a prerequisite.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, social innovators, community groups, social enterprises, organizations, or collaborative initiatives developing new or significantly adapted approaches to social challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate how their innovation addresses an identifiable social need and contributes to improved inclusion, access, participation, livelihoods, wellbeing, or other meaningful social outcomes.

Eligible innovations may include new service models, community-led approaches, collaborative structures, alternative delivery systems, or other practical responses to social challenges.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of implementation, community relevance, or meaningful progress toward positive change. The innovation must demonstrate a substantive contribution beyond merely rebranding or renaming an existing activity.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, innovators, research teams, enterprises, organizations, or collaborative initiatives developing forward-looking solutions to emerging or anticipated challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate a clear understanding of the challenge or opportunity being addressed and explain how their solution creates new possibilities for meaningful change.

Eligible solutions may include emerging technologies, innovative models, future-oriented research, anticipatory approaches, or new applications of existing knowledge.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of the solution's feasibility, originality, relevance, or potential contribution. Early-stage solutions may be considered where their underlying concept, development process, and pathway toward meaningful impact are sufficiently substantiated.

This recognition is based on stage of changemaking rather than age.

It is intended for an individual who is relatively early in their changemaking journey but demonstrates:

• strong initiative;
• clear purpose;
• credible early evidence of impact;
• learning and adaptability;
• leadership potential;
• and meaningful momentum.

Eligible nominees may include individuals, research teams, innovators, organizations, enterprises, networks, or collaborative initiatives developing or implementing innovations that address systemic challenges.

Nominees must demonstrate how their innovation engages with the underlying structures, relationships, processes, incentives, or conditions that contribute to a particular challenge.

Eligible work may include new governance models, collaborative systems, institutional approaches, economic models, service delivery structures, or innovations that enable more inclusive and sustainable systems.

Nominees must provide credible evidence of the innovation's relevance and its contribution to systemic change. A solution addressing only a temporary or isolated symptom may not qualify unless it also demonstrates a credible contribution to addressing the underlying system.