YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is calling for nominations for inspiring humanitarians who go to extreme lengths to save the lives of others for the fourth annual Aurora Prize

JUNE 11, 2018 – YEREVAN, ARMENIA –Nominations are now open for the 2019 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, a global humanitarian award presented by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative recognizing those who change and save lives, often at risk to themselves. The Aurora Prize is granted on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors.

Nominations are open to the public and can be made for candidates who have put their life, health, freedom, reputation or livelihood at risk to preserve human life. After being submitted through the online portal, nominations are reviewed by an esteemed Expert Panel, and the Aurora Humanitarians and ultimate Aurora Prize Laureate are chosen by the Prize Selection Committee. The Committee is chaired by actor and philanthropist George Clooney and includes Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and LeymahGbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; former president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo; Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, Lord Ara Darzi; former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power; and co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and former French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner.

A description of the Aurora Prize criteria and selection process can be found on the Prize website.  Nominations for the 2019 Aurora Prize will close on September 7, 2018.

Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, reflected on the third year of the Prize:“KuawHla Aungwas chosen as the 2018 Aurora Laureate from among 750 nominations which were received this year. It is profoundly gratifying to be able to identify and support the very special and meaningful work being done by a few. They are true heroes. We look forward to identifying more humanitarians, as the nominations process opens and we begin our search for the 2019 Laureate.”

Each year, the Aurora Prize chooses one Laureate, who receives a $100,000 grant to continue their work, as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work to receive a $1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize has expanded the impact of the work ofthe 2016 and 2017 Aurora Prize laureates by supportingthe six organizations they had designated across Africa and South America. These organizations combat child poverty, advance aid for refugees and orphans, and provide educational, psychological and medical support to victims of war, HIV/AIDs-affected children and victims of sexual violence. This impact is driven by a range of initiatives funded by the Prize, including microcredit programs, scholarships, primary, secondary and vocational education, the provision of medical supplies, and more. Over the past two years, the organizations nominated by the Aurora Prize Laureates have supported at least 54 victims of sexual violence, 1,168 refugees, 1,148 young people and 813 children and have directly offered health care to more than 82,867 people in poverty and war-stricken areas.

Reflecting on the impact that the Aurora Prize has had on her work and community, Marguerite Barankitse, the inaugural 2016 Aurora Prize Laureate said, “The Aurora Prize awarded me for my work with Maison Shalom, and helped me continue to offer love and hope to young refugee children, more than half of whom are young girls, and transform them into tomorrow’s leaders. At Maison Shalom, over two decades, we have taken in more than 30,000 war or AIDS orphans, street children and children of poverty-stricken parents. Thanks to Aurora, our children know that people all the way from Armenia care about their futures and value their dreams.”

“The Aurora Prize’s impact transcends borders, cultures and ideologies. Our Laureate’s unique ability to continue the cycle of giving is an expression of a truly global movement, in which we have transformed our gratitude to those who saved our grandparents, into meaningful action that benefits some of society’s most vulnerable people today,” said Noubar Afeyan, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. “Countless survivors around the world who owe their chance at life to the generosity of others can best acknowledge such benevolence by taking similar action. We look forward to continuing to honor such generosity.”

In its third year, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity received 750 submissions for 509 unique candidates from over 115 countries. Over the past three years, over 1,494 nominations have been made for 876 unique candidates.

The nominations period for the 2019 Aurora Prize is now open and will close on September 7, 2018 at 11:59 PM (EDT). Further information about the nominations process is available on the Aurora Prize website in the “Nominate Now” section.

About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award established to recognize modern day heroes and the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes in the face of adversity. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate is being honored each year between 2015 and 2023 (in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and LeymahGbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo; Médecins Sans Frontières co-founder and former foreign minister of France Bernard Kouchner; Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London Professor the Lord Ara Darzi; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney.

About the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid anywhere in the world and thus continue the cycle of giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915 to 1923) to support people and promote global projects that tackle the needs of the most helpless and destitute and do so at great risk. This is achieved through the Initiative’s various programs: The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have been joined by more than two hundred new supporters and partners. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our shared humanity. 

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is represented by three organizations – Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation, Inc. (New York, USA), the 100 Lives Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the IDeA Foundation(Yerevan, Armenia). 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan