Waislitz Global Citizen Award

About the Award

The Waislitz Global Citizen Award, an annual cash prize of $100,000 presented by Alex Waislitz and Global Citizen, recognizes the excellence of one individual in their work to end extreme poverty.

Criteria

Recipients are selected based on individual merit in four key areas:

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
How does the nominee embody and exemplify the values and practices of a Global Citizen?

IMPACT
What is the nominee’s track record of reducing extreme poverty?

INNOVATION
How has the nominee brought new thinking to overcoming the challenge of ending extreme poverty?

POTENTIAL
How would this award enable/support the nominee to scale or improve their work? How would the nominee use the funding?

About the Application

You will submit a three-minute video and 500-word essay that tell us about you and your work. Your submission should address the questions below:

Who are you? Introduce yourself and your team.
What are you doing? Tell us how you are working to reduce extreme poverty and how your work is different.
How is your work innovative? Does the work you’re doing tackle a particular problem in a different way than done previously? Is your solution sustainable?
What inspired you to take action? Tell us how you got the idea for your work and your successes (or opportunities).
What's your impact? Lay out a clear specific timeline, plan and metrics for success. What are your goals? Who are you positively affecting? How are you reaching them? How will the Waislitz Global Citizen Award help you achieve your goals?
What's your budget? Show us you have a plan and will use the funds wisely.

Winner Receives

One winner is invited to New York to attend the Global Citizen Live event the week of September 24 where they receive $100,000. A short video covering the winners’ work will also be shown at the Global Citizen Live event.

The winner will also receive:

Airfare and accommodation in New York to attend 2018 Global Citizen Live, Movement Makers, and the Global Citizen Festival the week of September 24 for the winner and a guest.
The opportunity to participate in the Global Citizen Live Event, an event with the world’s leaders in business, media, technology and culture convened the week of September 24.
Two VIP tickets to the 2018 Global Citizen Festival on September 29, 2018

Semi-Finalists Receive

Two Semi-Finalists will also be selected: Global Citizen’s Choice Award and Youth Innovation Award (for applicants under 35).

These winners will receive:

Airfare and accommodation in New York to attend 2018 Global Citizen Live, Movement Makers, and the Global Citizen Festival the week of September 24 for the winner and a guest.
Tickets to the Global Citizen Live Event, an event with the world’s leaders in business, media, technology and culture convened the week of September 24.
Two VIP tickets to the 2018 Global Citizen Festival on September 29, 2018
$50,000 for each semi-finalist winner.

Past Winners

2017

Wilma Rodrigues, founder and CEO of Saahas Zero Waste believes in persistence and practicality. Wilma has had a diverse career path – from being a tour guide and German language translator in the eighties, to a business journalist in the nineties, and for the past 16 years a pioneer in the Waste Management Industry. When not at work, Wilma likes to spend her time planting and nurturing trees, making compost and being around family.

Learn More

2016

Clarisse Uwineza, whose Environmental Protection and Organics organization focuses on converting organic waste into fertilizer in Rwanda, said that her project will “help reduce waste and empower farmers to produce more food.” Her BIORGOFERT project converts bio-organic waste into an environmentally friendly and clean fertilizer.

2015

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, the director of Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project, won the 2015 prize for his work in making education more accessible to AIDS orphans in Uganda. This includes developing schools but also helping the women - or “grandmothers” as he calls them - who raise these orphans.

2014

Anoop Jain, the founder of Humanure Power, won the 2014 prize for his work in rural India building sanitation facilities. Anoop believes that building toilets addresses the underlying causes of poverty, which affect broader health, social, and economic change desperately needed in India.

FAQs

What is Global Citizen?

Global Citizen is a community of people like you. People who want to learn about and take action on the world’s biggest challenges—and use their power to get other people involved too.

We bring you stories and actions that make a difference. That help fight extreme poverty and inequality around the world, and support approaches that will make life more sustainable for people and the planet.

Who is Alex Waislitz?

Alex Waislitz is the founder of the Waislitz Family Foundation with the stated aim of donating $50 million to a range of selected charitable projects.

Is this prize for organizations as well as individuals?

The Waislitz Global Citizen Award is for individuals or individual representatives of organizations.

What does the judging criterion “Global Citizenship” mean?

Please reference the Global Citizen Manifesto (link also on the award information page) for our definition of a Global Citizen.

When does the application open? When does it close?

It opens for submission on April 2, 2018 6:00 PM EDT and closes on April 30, 2018 at 11:59 PM EDT.

Who can apply?

Please see Entry Guidelines above.

What happens to my application materials after I submit?

All application submissions will be reviewed by an internal panel at Global Citizen to judge them against Award criteria. All entries become the property of Global Citizen. As such, Global Citizen is the owner of all copyright and all other intellectual property in the Award entries.

How are finalists chosen?

Finalists are chosen by a Global Citizen internal panel that will judge applicants based on their merit in four key areas:

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: How does the applicant embody and exemplify the values and practices of a Global Citizen?
IMPACT: What is the applicant’s track record of reducing extreme poverty?
INNOVATION: How has the applicant brought new thinking to overcoming the challenge of ending extreme poverty?
POTENTIAL: How would this award enable/support the applicant to scale or improve their work?

When will I find out if I am a finalist?

You will be notified of your application status by May 31, 2018.

How is the winner chosen?

Global Citizens around the world will vote on the top 4 finalists on the Global Citizen site. One winner is then chosen from the 4 finalists judges - Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans, and Alex Waislitz from the Waislitz Foundation.

If I am a winner, do I have to spend the award money a certain way?

No. Any award money is unconditional. However, we do ask applicants for an idea of how they would use the money and require winners to provide written updates on their organization’s progress after the festival.

When and where is the Global Citizen Festival?

September 29, 2018 in New York City.

To be eligble to apply, you must meet the following:

To be eligible to win a Prize, the Prize Winners must:

hold a valid passport, and be responsible for any requisite visas required to travel to New York City, for the period 24-29 September 2018;
be able to attend the 2018 Global Citizen Live event during the week of September 24, 2018. Attending the Global Citizen Festival in New York City on 29 September, 2018 is optional

If I am a winner, how will I get to New York?

Global Citizen provides the winner and a guest tickets to the New York for the week and pays for the airfare, hotel accommodations, and other travel-related expenses surrounding the event.

If I were to win, could I bring family / friends?

Each receives a ticket, airfare, and accommodation for themselves and one guest.

Where can I ask questions not covered here?

If you have any questions that are not answered on the award’s information page or in these FAQs, please email waislitzaward@globalcitizen.org. Regretfully we will only be able to respond to questions not answered here.

Can I submit any further supporting documents or media?

Absolutely. We would welcome up to (5) five documents, links, images that relate to or support the nominee’s credentials as a Global Citizen. Please note the application form allows for these submissions.

Apply Here

Terms and Conditions