LOS
ANGELES, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Aurora
Humanitarian Initiative today announced its lineup of global
thought leaders and local changemakers speaking at the upcoming
Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity events. They will convene
May 8-10 at the UCLA Meyer and Renee
Luskin Conference Center located in the heart of UCLA's campus.
This year, as conflict and fighting continues in many parts of
the world, the events will focus on "shining a light in the darkest
of times." According to the United Nations, in 2024 alone, an
estimated 300 million people around the world will need
humanitarian assistance and protection, due to conflicts, climate
emergencies and other drivers. Aurora is gathering the humanitarian
community to reaffirm a shared commitment to building a better
world, adapt to new global dynamics and act swiftly, together, for
the advancement of human rights and dignity.
"We are looking forward to bringing together the best minds of
our time — global leaders who will share their humanitarian and
human rights expertise and apply their direct knowledge to the
pressing issues we face today," said Aurora Executive Director
Armine Afeyan.
Zeid bin Ra'ad Al Hussein,
president & CEO of International Peace Institute, will be the
keynote speaker offering his perspective on the importance of
standing firm on human rights at a time when millions of people
continue to have their human rights denied by autocratic and
populist regimes. As a member of The Elders, a group advancing
peace, justice and human rights, and as former UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights (2014-2018), Al
Hussein has continuously protested conditions that are
fundamentally unjust and unfair. He was willing to call out all
abusive governments and often singling out authoritarian-minded
leaders by name, serving as a sort of global conscience.
More than 55 panelists are scheduled to speak, including Nobel
Peace Prize laureates, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist from
Africa, international doctors and
public health leaders and preeminent leaders in technology who will
speak about the urgent need for considerations of human rights in
the development of Artificial Intelligence.
The three days of events will include a Human Rights and
Humanitarian Forum in partnership with The Promise Institute for
Human Rights of UCLA's Law School.
"The Promise Institute is a globally recognized authority for
human rights education, research, impact and thought leadership,"
said Prof. Hannah Garry, executive
director of The Promise Institute. "We emphasize centering impacted
communities as we come alongside to demand justice for human rights
violations. We are very excited for this opportunity to bring
together our community with like-minded global actors as we
collectively discuss and celebrate the critical work of human
rights defenders around the world."
On May 9, at a dinner and award
ceremony, Aurora will announce its 2024 Laureate and award its
$1 million flagship prize. The prize
will go to one of three humanitarians to distribute aid to those in
need on the ground: Abdulhadi
Al-Khawaja (human rights advocate, Bahrain/Denmark), Denis
Mukwege (gynecologist and human rights activist,
Democratic Republic of the Congo)
and Nasrin
Sotoudeh (human rights defender, Iran).
The Human Rights and Humanitarian Forum will hold discussions,
breakout sessions and panels. Themes will include the right to
education, forced displacement and refugees, climate change and
environmental justice, gender justice, the risks and benefits of
AI, global healthcare crisis and others. The events will also
feature a screening of the award-winning animated documentary film,
"Aurora's Sunrise."
On May 10, the concluding day of
the conference, Dr. Noubar Afeyan,
Aurora Co-Founder, and Dr. Eric
Esrailian, Co-Founder of The Promise Institute, co-chairs of
the events, will also hold a discussion honoring the 2024 Aurora
Laureate and advocate for steps to a more peaceful, just and
prosperous world.
Here is a partial list of announced speakers (listed
alphabetically): Jamila Afghani, President, Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom Afghanistan;
Zubaida Akbar, Advisory Board
Member, FEMENA; Karen Ansara,
Board Chair, NEID Global;
Ahilan Arulanantham, Co-Director, UCLA
Center for Immigration Law & Policy; Zubaida Bai, President & CEO,
Grameen Foundation; William
Boyd, UCLA Law School, Professor of Law; Faculty
Co-Director, Emmett Institute on
Climate Change and the Environment; Anna
Spain Bradley, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law;
Sasha Chanoff, Founder and
CEO, RefugePoint; Vilas Dhar, President, Patrick J.
McGovern Foundation; Sheila
Davis, CEO, Partners in Health; Ilwad Elman,
Director of Programs & Development, Elman Peace; Leymah Gbowee, Founder and
President, Gbowee Peace Foundation; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate;
Rez Gardi, International Lawyer, Kurdish and Refugee
Rights Activist; Sofia
Gruskin, Director, USC
Institute on Inequalities in Global Health; Janine Di Giovanni, Founder & CEO, The
Reckoning Project; Alice
Greenwald, Principal, Memory Matters; former President
and CEO, the National September 11
Memorial & Museum; Kevin Jon
Heller, Professor of International Law and
Security, University of Copenhagen; Special Adviser on War
Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
(ICC); Nasra Ismail, U.S. Enterprise Executive
Director, Alight; Dana Graber
Ladek, Chief of Mission, IOM Mexico, IOM –
UN Migration; Wendy Kopp, CEO
and Co-Founder, Teach for All; Kate
Mackintosh, Executive Director, UCLA Law
Promise Institute Europe; Harry
McCracken, Global Technology Editor, Fast
Company Tlaleng Mofokeng; UN Special Rapporteur on
the Right to Health; Carolyn
Mugar, Executive Director, Farm Aid; Founder,
Armenia Tree Project; Paul
Polman, Business Leader, Climate and Equalities
Campaigner, Former CEO of Unilever; Mary Beth Powers, CEO, Catholic Medical
Mission Board; John
Prendergast, Co-Founder, The Sentry; Dele
Olojede, Founder and Host, Africa in the World Festival; Journalist,
Pulitzer Prize Winner; Amy
Rao, Co-Chair, Human Rights Watch, Executive Vice
President, The Schmidt Family Foundation; Louise Richardson, President, Carnegie
Corporation of New York;
Shannon Raj Singh, Principal
and Founder, Athena Tech &
Atrocities Advisory, Co-Chair, IBA War Crimes Committee, Former
Human Rights Counsel at Twitter; Negar
Tayyar, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Global Whole
Being Fund; Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer,
Planet.
Media contact: For more information, contact
media@auroraprize.com.
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SOURCE Aurora Humanitarian Initiative