Ten honorees.
Announced.

Showing all 10 honorees

• TH Japan

  Children, peace & human rights

  Tatsuro Hoshino

  Born in Yokohama in 1990, he earned his degree from the Faculty of Education at Chiba University before setting off for Guatemala as an elementary education volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where he worked to expand educational opportunities for local children. Returning to Japan, he spent the next seven years teaching elementary school in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture – years that left him increasingly troubled by how many children seemed disengaged, even unhappy, in the classroom. Convinced these struggles reflected deeper, systemic flaws in education – flaws with real consequences for society's future – he stepped away from teaching to build something new. In the years since, he has launched 13 education-focused ventures, each designed to reshape how children learn, both within and beyond the traditional school system. His guiding mission: a society in which educators, students, and families alike can approach education with greater hope and confidence. Today, he leads a nationwide teachers' organization roughly 500 members strong and runs an alternative K–9 school serving more than 900 students. He is also the author of Psychological Safety in the Classroom (Meiji Tosho Publishing, 2024), a practical guide to building learning environments where every child has room to thrive.

  Read the story of Mr. Tatsuro Hoshino

  Born in Yokohama in 1990, he earned his degree from the Faculty of Education at Chiba University before setting off for Guatemala as an elementary education volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where he worked to expand educational opportunities for local children. Returning to Japan, he spent the next seven years teaching elementary school in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture – years that left him increasingly troubled by how many children seemed disengaged, even unhappy, in the classroom. Convinced these struggles reflected deeper, systemic flaws in education – flaws with real consequences for society's future – he stepped away from teaching to build something new. In the years since, he has launched 13 education-focused ventures, each designed to reshape how children learn, both within and beyond the traditional school system. His guiding mission: a society in which educators, students, and families alike can approach education with greater hope and confidence. Today, he leads a nationwide teachers' organization roughly 500 members strong and runs an alternative K–9 school serving more than 900 students. He is also the author of Psychological Safety in the Classroom (Meiji Tosho Publishing, 2024), a practical guide to building learning environments where every child has room to thrive.

• SO Nigeria

  Children, peace & human rights

  Summer Okibe

  Summer Okibe is a lawyer licensed to practice in Nigeria and Canada, an energy policy expert, researcher, and social entrepreneur whose work advances energy justice, Indigenous rights, climate action, and educational access. She currently works in energy policy in Canada while maintaining an active legal practice focused on regulatory, Indigenous, and environmental law. Her career spans the United Nations on Climate Change, the United Nations Development Programme, the Canadian Institute of Resources Law, government and academia, where she advised and contributed to energy policy, sustainability, and legal research across Canada, the United States, and Africa.

  Read the story of Ms. Summer Okibe

  Summer Okibe is a lawyer licensed to practice in Nigeria and Canada, an energy policy expert, researcher, and social entrepreneur whose work advances energy justice, Indigenous rights, climate action, and educational access. She currently works in energy policy in Canada while maintaining an active legal practice focused on regulatory, Indigenous, and environmental law. Her career spans the United Nations on Climate Change, the United Nations Development Programme, the Canadian Institute of Resources Law, government and academia, where she advised and contributed to energy policy, sustainability, and legal research across Canada, the United States, and Africa.

  Summer is currently a doctoral researcher, with a focus on Energy and Environmental issues. At 29 years old, she had earned a Bachelor of Laws, a Master of Laws, and a Master of Business Administration, and had won over $400,000 in scholarships.

  Beyond her professional work, Summer is an institution builder. Summer has founded four mission-driven initiatives committed to expanding opportunity and advancing sustainable development. Through To Support Young Kids (TSYK) Foundation, she has empowered more than 10,000 people through scholarships, mentorship, free community health outreaches, and educational programmes. She is also developing Aderayah Academy, a tuition-free, solar-powered school that will provide accessible, high-quality education for underserved children in Nigeria. Through Ndozi Climate and Regmify Resources Law, she is leveraging technology, legal innovation, and policy research to improve climate resilience and natural resource governance across Africa.

  Summer has received several prestigious awards including Alberta’s Top 10 Young Women in Energy, Africa’s 100 Most Influential Women, and Outstanding Female Scholar in Africa. She has also authored numerous scholarly publications and children’s books, spoken on global platforms, and is a policy commentator. Her work continues to influence policy, empower communities, and inspire young leaders worldwide.

• MT Malaysia

  Academic leadership

  Michelle Tiong

  Growing up in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, a city shaped by the oil and gas industry, Dr. Michelle Tiong witnessed how petroleum powered economic growth, created opportunities, and transformed communities. Rather than viewing fossil fuels as the enemy of sustainability, she came to believe the world's net zero future depends on transforming today's energy systems through science and innovation - a conviction that carried her to become a researcher at the frontier of climate action.

  Read the story of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michelle Tiong

  Growing up in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, a city shaped by the oil and gas industry, Dr. Michelle Tiong witnessed how petroleum powered economic growth, created opportunities, and transformed communities. Rather than viewing fossil fuels as the enemy of sustainability, she came to believe the world's net zero future depends on transforming today's energy systems through science and innovation - a conviction that carried her to become a researcher at the frontier of climate action.

  Today, as an Associate Professor at China university, Dr. Tiong develops practical solutions in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and AI-enabled technologies to improve industrial decarbonization, carbon management, and climate decision-making. Her contributions have earned significant recognition, including the 2026 Curtin University Young Achievement Award, the 2025 Ten Outstanding Young Malaysians (TOYM) Honoree in Academic Leadership and Accomplishment, and selection as the sole Malaysia-China representative in the World Bank-supported Global Women’s Network for Energy Transition Mentoring Programme. Beyond research, she builds bridges between academia, industry, and society by advancing cross-border collaboration and mentoring young innovators in STEM, believing a sustainable future must be built by leaders as diverse as the world it serves.

  From an introverted girl to a voice shaping global climate solutions, Dr. Tiong lives by one belief: believing is seeing. Every extraordinary journey begins with the courage to believe in yourself and see possibilities that others have yet to imagine.

• YB Tunisia

  Medical innovation

  Yassine Belghith

  Dr. Yassine Belghith is a Tunisian ophthalmic surgeon and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, driven by the conviction that access to advanced eye care should never depend on geography. He is recognized for building southern Tunisia's first advanced ophthalmology unit.

  Read the story of Dr. Yassine Belghith

  Dr. Yassine Belghith is a Tunisian ophthalmic surgeon and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, driven by the conviction that access to advanced eye care should never depend on geography. He is recognized for building southern Tunisia's first advanced ophthalmology unit.

  After ranking third nationally among all Tunisian medical specialties, he chose Gabès over an established center in the north, arriving at a hospital with no history of vitrectomy, phacoemulsification, or corneal transplantation. Within two years, he built a functioning surgical unit from the ground up, performing over 1,500 eye surgeries and ending a medical exodus that once forced patients to travel hundreds of kilometers, or risk losing their sight, for care. His unit went on to perform Tunisia's first temporary keratoprosthesis, the region's first vitrectomy, and its first corneal transplant.

  His reach now extends internationally. He conducts annual teaching missions in Djibouti, training ophthalmologists in another resource-limited setting, and represented Tunisia at the Algerian Society of Ophthalmology's congress, where he received the Society's 2026 Appreciation Award. He has presented at conferences across Mauritania, Algeria, France, Vienna, and Hamburg, and holds memberships in the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and the French Society of Ophthalmology.

  Dr. Belghith leads medical caravans across more than twenty towns in rural Tunisia, and has trained four resident surgeons at Mohamed Ben Sassi University Hospital. His work has been recognized twice by Tunisia's Minister of Health and by the Governor of Gabès.

  Surgeon, professor, mentor, and philanthropist, Dr. Belghith moves fluidly between the operating room, the lecture hall, and the field, united by one conviction: that world-class care depends not on a region's resources, but on the will to build it there.

• EM Tunisia

  Cultural achievement

  Emna Mizouni

  Emna Mizouni is an award-winning entrepreneur and cultural catalyst working at the dynamic intersection of heritage preservation, open knowledge, and digital literacy. Rooted in Tunisia with a global reach across Africa, the Arab world, and North America, Emna has dedicated her career to safeguarding local culture and projecting it globally.

  Read the story of Mrs. Emna Mizouni

  Emna Mizouni is an award-winning entrepreneur and cultural catalyst working at the dynamic intersection of heritage preservation, open knowledge, and digital literacy. Rooted in Tunisia with a global reach across Africa, the Arab world, and North America, Emna has dedicated her career to safeguarding local culture and projecting it globally.

  She is the Founder and President of Carthagina organization documenting and digitizing Tunisian history that has hosted hundreds of cultural tours and heritage workshops to re-engage youth with their heritage.

  A pioneer in digital culture, Emna was named 2019 Wikimedian of the Year for her transformative contributions to the Arabic Wikipedia and hosting dozens of Wikimedia events across Africa and the Arab world, ensuring marginalized histories are accurately represented globally.

  Beyond digital archiving, Emna actively fosters a culture of reading. She founded Le Salon, a thought-leaders’ gathering dedicated to literature, arts, and ideas in Tunis and Washington, D.C. Mizouni co-founded Cross Ocean, a remote book club connecting immigrant and diaspora voices through literature.

  Through Elyssar Agency, she advances high-quality media production in Tunisia to amplify authentic regional narratives. A published researcher, Mizouni is currently investigating the history of the endowment system (Habous/Waqf) in Tunisia while writing her debut fiction novel.

  Emna’s cultural advocacy extends to executive leadership roles with The JOMI Group and Digital Citizenship (DCO) focusing on Tech Diplomacy and advancing digital literacy and safety. She serves on the Board of Directors of Access Now and previously contributed to the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council.

• LE Venezuela

  Academic leadership

  Linda Estrella del Mar Montilla-Celis

  Linda Montilla-Celis is a Venezuelan mechanical engineer, former Technical Program Manager at Tesla, and social entrepreneur whose academic journey is grounded in the belief that achievement matters most when knowledge opens opportunities for others.

  Read the story of Ms. Linda Estrella del Mar Montilla-Celis

  Linda Montilla-Celis is a Venezuelan mechanical engineer, former Technical Program Manager at Tesla, and social entrepreneur whose academic journey is grounded in the belief that achievement matters most when knowledge opens opportunities for others.

  As a Fulbright Faculty Scholar through LASPAU, affiliated with Harvard University, and a Fellow of the U.S. Department of State’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative, Linda combines academic excellence, leadership, and knowledge transfer. She holds a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Purdue University, known as the “Cradle of Astronauts,” and is pursuing a master’s degree in Business Management at UNET.

  She is the founder and CEO of Táchira Project, a nonprofit that has trained over 1,200 entrepreneurs and young leaders through free programs in innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership, cultivating changemakers committed to their communities. She created the Synergy Entrepreneurship Program, Venezuela’s first educational initiative supported by MIT.

  Her achievements extend to science. Linda became the first Venezuelan analog astronaut and managed a technology initiative supervised by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center that was twice recognized by NASA for advances in space technology. She serves as Venezuela’s National Point of Contact for the Space Generation Advisory Council, supporting the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. She is a certified scuba diver with pilot training.

  Her honors include the 2025 TOYP Venezuela Award, selection among the 50 Rising Stars in ESG 2025 by Women of the Future and the Financial Times, and recognition as one of the 100 Protagonists of 2025 by the Embassy of the Netherlands.

• EB Syria

  Children, peace & human rights

  Ehab Badwi

  Ehab Badwi is a dedicated peacebuilder and youth advocate based in Berlin, Germany, with over a decade of experience advancing global education, digital skills, and youth inclusion in policy-making. As the Founder of the Young Global Citizens Assembly e.V. and its flagship project, the Syrian Youth Assembly, Ehab has successfully empowered over 225,000 young people worldwide. Under his leadership, the organization was recently named the "Most Empowering Youth Education & Digital Skills NPO 2025 – Germany" at the Corporate Vision Education and Training Awards.

  Read the story of Mr. Ehab Badwi

  Ehab Badwi is a dedicated peacebuilder and youth advocate based in Berlin, Germany, with over a decade of experience advancing global education, digital skills, and youth inclusion in policy-making. As the Founder of the Young Global Citizens Assembly e.V. and its flagship project, the Syrian Youth Assembly, Ehab has successfully empowered over 225,000 young people worldwide. Under his leadership, the organization was recently named the "Most Empowering Youth Education & Digital Skills NPO 2025 – Germany" at the Corporate Vision Education and Training Awards.

  A dual Syrian and German citizen, Ehab is deeply committed to amplifying marginalized voices. He directs the Dein Almanya Initiative, which enhances the political and social participation of refugees and migrants, and serves on the board of the Federation of German-Syrian Organizations. His extensive expertise in the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda has led him to consult for UN agencies, act as a UN expert at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, and serve on the Advisory Group for the second Progress Study of the YPS.

  Ehab’s impactful work has earned him widespread recognition, including the 2022 Duolingo Award for Access, a spot on the global 2025 ‘Syrian 1000 Talents’ list. A lifelong member of the Scout Movement, Ehab holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a Diploma in Engineering, and is currently pursuing a Master’s and PhD track in Governance and Policy at the University of Potsdam.

• KM Tunisia

  Children, peace & human rights

  Khadija Maalej

  Khadija Maalej is a Tunisian public-interest media and crisis communication leader working across the Middle East and Africa. With an academic background in public relations, business communication, and languages, she has built a career around one purpose: using communication to create impact where people need it most.

  Read the story of Ms. Khadija Maalej

  Khadija Maalej is a Tunisian public-interest media and crisis communication leader working across the Middle East and Africa. With an academic background in public relations, business communication, and languages, she has built a career around one purpose: using communication to create impact where people need it most.

  As Senior Projects Manager at BBC Media Action, Khadija leads programmes that use media, storytelling, and strategic communication to support children, peacebuilding, human rights, climate resilience, and access to credible information in fragile contexts. Her work is driven by the belief that in times of war, crisis, and uncertainty, trusted information is not a luxury; it is a lifeline.

  She has led and contributed to award-winning initiatives including Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu / Kids Lifeline, a children’s audio initiative giving Palestinian children affected by war moments of learning, imagination, emotional relief, and the chance to feel like children again. Her work spans misinformation response in Libya, youth civic engagement in Tunisia, crisis communication in Syria, peacebuilding in Burundi, migration narratives with the African Union, engagement with North African minority tribes, and dialogue with interreligious and intercultural actors.

  Trilingual in Arabic, French, and English, Khadija bridges communities, institutions, and cultures through ethical storytelling and rights-based communication. Her leadership has been recognised through the BBC News Award for Outstanding Initiative for Reaching Underserved Audiences and by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, for digital media innovation.

  Khadija’s mission is to turn communication into courage: helping people be heard, protected, informed, and empowered to shape peaceful and dignified futures.

• KS USA

  Scientific & technological

  Kenneth Smith

  Kenneth Wayne Smith Jr. is Deputy Launch Director and Anomaly Chief for Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle, leading mission-critical decisions during launch operations. Over a decade, his career has spanned five NASA centers, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, where he advanced programs including Commercial Crew and Artemis before leading system integration for Blue Origin's MK2 Lunar Lander.

  Read the story of Mr. Kenneth Smith

  Kenneth Wayne Smith Jr. is Deputy Launch Director and Anomaly Chief for Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle, leading mission-critical decisions during launch operations. Over a decade, his career has spanned five NASA centers, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, where he advanced programs including Commercial Crew and Artemis before leading system integration for Blue Origin's MK2 Lunar Lander.

  Driven by the belief that humanity's future in space should be accessible to everyone, Kenneth combines engineering leadership with international collaboration. As an Eisenhower USA Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, and Alfa Fellow, he has worked with leaders across India, Australia, Russia, Armenia, and Switzerland. His modular laboratory platform lowers barriers for emerging space programs to advance lunar and planetary science. Through Blue Origin's Club for the Future, he speaks to students worldwide while collecting postcards flown to space and returned, inspiring future explorers.

  Kenneth's commitment began while volunteering at the Great Lakes Science Center, where he realized that even a college dropout relying on food assistance could find a place among the stars. That experience shaped his mission to creating opportunities for others. He earned degrees from the University of Akron and Georgia Tech, where he is completing a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. In 2025, JCI named him one of America's Ten Outstanding Young Americans. His honors also include Forbes 30 Under 30, the AAS Patti Grace Smith Award, and NASA's Trailblazer Award.

  Kenneth is working toward a future where the next giant leap belongs to all of humanity.

• MR Syria

  Children, peace & human rights

  Muzoon Rakan al mellehan

  Muzoon Almellehan is an internationally recognized activist for education, refugees, and the rights of girls and women. She has been campaigning for children’s education in emergencies since she was forced to flee Syria in 2013. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the first with official refugee status.

  Read the story of Miss. Muzoon Rakan al mellehan

  Muzoon Almellehan is an internationally recognized activist for education, refugees, and the rights of girls and women. She has been campaigning for children’s education in emergencies since she was forced to flee Syria in 2013. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the first with official refugee status.

  Muzoon has spoken in multiple global conferences such as speaking in front of the United Nations General Assembly and at the G20 Summit in Germany, among several other distinguished audiences, and presented a TEDxTeen Talk called "The Future of Syria Depends on One Thing."

  Muzoon traveled with UNICEF to countries affected by war and conflict, she has been with UNICEF in 2017 to Chad and in 2019 to Mali, and then she travelled back to Jordan in 2022 and finally she returned to her homeland Syria with UNICEF in February, 2026.

  She has received the following awards and honors: BBC’s list of 100 influential and inspirational women in 2017, TIME’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017, Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21 Class of 2017, a 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Award, she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Glasgow Caledonian University and the International Dresden Peace Prize in 2020.

  Muzoon has a BA in International Politics and MA in International Relations, Conflict and Security - she's currently living in the UK and continuing to use her voice to advocate for the rights of children and refugees.

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