Deadline: 31-Mar-2024
The Call for Nominations for the 2024 Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize is open! Know a young leader who has shown exceptional leadership in promoting or defending democracy? Nominate them for the second edition of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize.
The Democracy & Culture Foundation (DCF) in association with the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF), has launched the second edition of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize. The award will be presented jointly at this year’s Athens Democracy Forum (ADF) which will take place in October.
Objectives
- This Prize aims to:
- Recognise exceptional intellectual and/or “in action” leadership shown by a young activist in defending and promoting democracy;
- Provide the recipient of the prize with support, including through a one-year mentorship with a recognised democracy expert or senior leader;
- Through appropriate publicity, inspire young people to commit to the advancement of democracy.
- The Prize will highlight actions taken by young people to:
- foster genuine participation in decision-making;
- promote peaceful dialogue on divisive political issues;
- advance intergenerational exchange on matters related to democracy;
- give a real voice to people and communities who have traditionally been excluded from decision-making;
- contribute to or advocate for the organisation of free and fair elections and their acceptance;
- protect freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and freedom of expression;
- garner support for the independence of democratic institutions; or
- fight for reform in both the public and private sectors to ensure that democracy adapts, develops and survives as the pre-eminent method of government.
Award Information
- The Prize includes a monetary prize of USD 10,000 and is presented yearly at The Athens Democracy Forum. The Awardee will also be invited to lead in organising a session on youth and democracy at the following year’s Forum.
Eligibility Criteria
- Every year, the call for nominations will be publicly announced and shared directly with roughly one hundred organisations working in democracy promotion or youth empowerment. Nominees must be aged between 18 and 30 at the time of nomination. There are no restrictions in terms of nationality, gender, or occupation.
- DCF and KAF will receive and filter the nominations to ensure candidates meet the requirements. A list of ten nominees will then be submitted to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will consider the following when deciding on the winner:
- Impact: The nominee’s actions had a demonstrated outcome, for instance, a change in policy in a given country, the rate of participation in elections, the number of people reached through a specific campaign, the number of users of a specific application, the number of students gaining a wider understanding of the importance of the democratic process, the number of community associations engaged in an educational campaign etc.
- Innovation: The innovative character of these actions.
- Sustainability: Whether the nominee has advanced the cause of democracy and human rights for a sustained period of one year minimum and whether their actions are sustainable over time and replicable in other contexts;
- Values: The values displayed by the nominee through their actions.
- Benefit: The added value the Prize could bring the nominee in terms of international notoriety and support.
For more information, visit KAF.