Menu Close

Awards

ANNOUNCING… THE 2017 INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS!!

We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2017 Nelson Mandela-Graça Machel Innovation Awards — two individuals and two organisations across four categories, who have demonstrated remarkable courage and commitment in the pursuit of social change.

The four winners were selected from some 300 nominations from across the globe. They will be honoured at a ceremony on 7 December in Suva, Fiji as part of International Civil Society Week.

For the first time this year, the Awards were run in collaboration with The Elders – a group of independent global leaders, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 – and, specifically, their #WalkTogether campaign.

And the winners are…

YOUTH ACTIVIST WINNER — MS. JUBILANTÉ CUTTING

Jubilanté Cutting is pioneering the development of opportunities, skills, and connections to enable young people of the Caribbean to shape the future of the digital and creative industries. In 2016, at just 19, Jubilanté founded the Guyana Animation Network – an organization that helps youth to develop skills in digital media and animation. It has since engaged over 3,500 people, including children as young as 6, and begun linking artists and animators with some of the world’s leading experts and entrepreneurs. And she’s done it all while completing her legal degree and working as a part-time paralegal at one of the country’s leading law firms.

 

INDIVIDUAL ACTIVIST WINNER — KHALED ELBALSHY

Khaled Elbalshy is an Egyptian human rights defender, journalist, and chief editor of the Al Bedaiah online newspaper. In a nation where media freedom is under constant attack, Khaled has boldly and relentlessly pursued the cause of free speech, despite facing personal judicial and online harassment. He established the Front to Defend Journalists and Freedoms, which has succeeded in having several journalists released from detention. He has also sought every available platform to shine a light on violations by the government and share these with the world, and has actively mentored younger journalists to defend their own rights and the rights of others.