On September 24, 2024, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative attended the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Meeting in New York City. The Initiative was represented in a session titled “Innovating in a Time of Crisis,” a segment focused on the exacerbating factors on vulnerable populations around the globe and new ideas and solutions to address these critical issues. The panel featured Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation and member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee; Armine Afeyan, Chief Executive Officer of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative; and Dr. Iftikher Mahmood, Founder of HOPE Foundation for Women & Children of Bangladesh.

During the discussion, Armine Afeyan clarified Aurora’s focus on empowering grassroots humanitarians. “[The Aurora Prize] is a participatory grant, and that’s founded on the premise that they are the best positioned to decode how that capital is allocated locally. We are, through and through, a localization organization, and that’s how the Prize gets distributed. <…> And I think the thing to take away from this is “human” in “humanitarian.” That’s what we are all about,” said Ms. Afeyan. She then highlighted the inspiring stories of Aurora Luminaries Dr. Tom Catena, who provides medical aid to the underserved population of Nuba Mountains in Sudan, and Syeda Ghulam Fatima, who works to free bonded laborers in Pakistan, as prime examples of this commitment.

You can watch the full video of the session titled “Innovating in a Time of Crisis” below.