Waislitz Global Citizen Awards

About the Awards

The Waislitz Global Citizen Awards, are annual cash prizes totaling $200,000. The grand prize is $100,000 with two semi-finalist prizes at $50,000 each. The awards are presented by Alex Waislitz and Global Citizen and recognize the excellence of individuals in their work to end extreme poverty.

Winners of the 2018 Waislitz Global Citizen Awards

Wailsitz Global Citizen Award winner

Koketso Moeti, Founder & Executive Director of Amandla.mobi

Koketso Moeti-Amandla.mobi.jpg

Koketso Moeti saw the potential of cell phones to amplify the voices of poor women to hold government to account. Working to turn every cell phone into an active citizenship tool, Koketso founded amandla.mobi, a movement of over 200,000 active citizens across South Africa who campaign against poverty.

Waislitz Global Citizen Youth Innovation Award winner

Caitlin Barrett, CEO of Love Mercy Foundation

Caitlin Barrett-Love Mercy Foundation.jpg

Love Mercy Foundation runs two main programs; an agricultural loan program with women called Cents for Seeds, and the Kristina Health Centre. Cents for Seeds is a sustainable and scalable micro loan agriculture program that empowers women to break the cycle of poverty in their communities in northern Uganda after suffering through two decades of civil war. Over 13,800 women have received a start to loan of seeds, tools, and education to begin earning an income and providing for their families

Waislitz Global Citizen’s Choice Award

Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri, Founder & Executive Director of EDJA Foundation

Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri-EDJA Foundation.jpg

EDJA combats sexual violence and domestic abuse in Sub-saharan Africa, by providing FREE medical, legal, and counseling services to survivors. Tabitha (Founder/Survivor) is continuously challenged by that still voice that got her to start EDJA “Why do you get the luxury to wait, when they are hurting now?”

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 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 10 finalists on the Global Citizen site. One winner is then chosen from the 10 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.

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

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