The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a new global award that will be given annually to people who put themselves at risk to enable others to survive and thrive. Recipients will be recognized for the exceptional impact their actions have made to preserving human life or advancing humanitarian causes, despite the challenges that they have overcome.
A grant of U.S. $1 million will be given to the organization that the recipient identifies as the inspiration for his or her actions. In this way, the Aurora Prize will make a tangible difference to the causes that motivate people to risk their health, liberty, reputation, or livelihood by voluntarily carrying out acts that enable others to survive.
The Aurora Prize has been developed as part of 100 LIVES, an international humanitarian project rooted in the events of the Armenian Genocide. This year marks the centenary of the Genocide where an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed. In spite of this tragedy, approximately 500,000 survived and found shelter abroad, many with the help of strangers. 100 LIVES is a global effort to pay tribute to and thank the individuals and institutions whose actions saved lives a century ago.
Below is an outline of the process and a reminder of the key dates you need to be aware of
We want to shine a light on people who faced adversity, put themselves on the line and still made a difference through a single act of valor or a long-term campaign.
Compassionate. Courageous. Determined. Risking everything for what they believe in, the winner of the Aurora Prize will be exceptional in every way.
And we’d like you to help us find them…
We invite you to nominate any person or group that you believe has gone above and beyond in helping others. It can be someone you know personally or just someone you admire. If eligible, your nominee will be contacted by the 100 LIVES team.
These nominations will then be assessed by a dedicated Secretariat comprised of experts in the field and overseen by independent auditors. A shortlist will then be drawn up for consideration by the Selection Committee. The inaugural Aurora Prize will be presented in April 2016 at a ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia
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The name Aurora was chosen to honor the memory of Aurora Mardiganian who, as a child, was forced to witness the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide, including losing her father and brothers. Against the odds she survived and went on to devote her life to providing humanitarian relief and raising awareness of the 1915 atrocities. The Prize was inspired by Aurora, and the thousands of untold stories of courage and survival during these events 100 years ago.
Aurora was also the Roman Goddess of Dawn and the Prize is a means of both showing gratitude for acts of humanity but also giving substantive help to those creating brighter tomorrows for people around the world.
