Global prize for activist?

A ‘trailblazing’ Cork woman who founded a collective of global youth activists striving to change world food policy will be honoured at the Global Citizen Prize 2024 in New York.

Sophie Healy-Thow, founder of Act4Food, is one of five international changemakers who will take home an award at the Global Citizen Prize ceremony on 1 May.

She is also the Global Youth Campaigns Coordinator for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

This year, the Global Citizen Prize recognizes advocates across five categories: gender equity, civic space, climate change, food and nutrition, and health and vaccines.

Ms Healy-Thow joins fellow prize-winners: health Ugandan lawyer Andrew Ddembe; Her Initiative founder Lydia Charles Moyo from Tanzania; environmental rights defender and lawyer Olivier Bahemuke Ndoole from Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Vishal Prasad, Campaign Director at Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, from Fiji.

Each winner will receive a year-long programme of support from Global Citizen, whose goal is to bring about the end of extreme poverty. Winners will also receive a cash grant for their organisation.

The awards ceremony will feature appearances by the Honorable Philip Davis; Prime Minister of the Bahamas, media personality and entrepreneur Brooklyn Peltz Beckham; media personality and Global Citizen Advocate Berla Mundi; CEO of EIB Network and Empire Group, Nat Kwabena Adisi (Bola Ray); and Latin superstar and Grammy-nominated artist Rauw Alejandro.

Established in 2018, the Global Citizen Prize honours individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to defeating poverty, defending the planet, and demanding equity. The awards celebrate activists who champion and elevate their communities most vulnerable, taking actions to end extreme poverty, while fostering social change across the world.

“If we are to address the world’s most pressing issues, we need to support young leaders who are taking action now,” said Liza Henshaw, President, Global Citizen.

“It is an honour to celebrate these inspirational trailblazers, who are dedicating their lives to uplifting the most vulnerable in their local communities, and advancing the fight against ending extreme poverty across the world,” she added.

The Global Citizen Prize is part of Global Citizen NOW, a two-day summit taking place in New York City on 1 and 2 May, convening government leaders, private sector executives, grassroots activists, cultural innovators, philanthropic experts, and leading journalists to set a global agenda for action on the most urgent issues facing humanity and the planet.

For more information about the Global Citizen Prize award, visit globalcitizen.org/prize.