Zayed Award for Human Fraternity receives nominations from more than 90 nations

There have been 380 nominations from more than 90 countries for the 2027 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

Since 2019, the award has recognised 20 winners from 20 countries for their contributions to humanitarian acts in areas such as health, education, sustainability, refugee support, community development, food relief, and the empowerment of young people and women.

The winners of the annual prize, which includes an award of $1 million, will be announced at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi in February, the emirate's media office said on Monday. The deadline for submissions was in October.

There were first-time nominations from 21 countries, including Ethiopia, Germany and the Netherlands. A high number of nominations came from the UAE, Brazil, the US, Egypt and India.

The submissions will be reviewed by the judging committee, which includes Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, former president of Portugal; Barham Salih, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and former president of Iraq; Nehmat Aoun, first lady of Lebanon; Maulen Ashimbayev, former chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan; and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture at the Vatican.

What is the award?

The global prize was established after Pope Francis's visit to the UAE in 2019.

The 2026 winners were a Palestinian non-profit organisation, the architects of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Afghan girls’ education advocate Zarqa Yaftali.

They were selected by an independent global judging committee comprising Charles Michel, former president of the European Council and ex-prime minister of Belgium; Moussa Faki Mahamat, former chairman of the African Union Commission and ex-prime minister of Chad; Catherine Russell, Unicef executive director; Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the administration of the President of Uzbekistan; Jose Tolentino de Mendonca, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education at the Holy See; and Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary General of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

The 2026 recipients were honoured on February 4 – the UN-recognised International Day of Human Fraternity – at the annual awards ceremony at Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi.

Named after UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the award reflects Sheikh Zayed’s moral legacy, humanitarianism and respect for others regardless of religion, gender, race, or nationality.