AURORA PRIZE

2019 Aurora Dialogues took place in Armenia on October 17 – 21, 2019, during the inaugural Aurora Forum, powered by partner institutions with a shared vision to address global challenges and local development.

The Localizing Impact session of 2019 Aurora Dialogues, attended by prominent humanitarians and philanthropists, focused on Aurora’s unique approach to localizing impact and how this fits into the overall humanitarian architecture, the milestones achieved since Aurora’s inception, and the goals for the road ahead. All Aurora’s projects hinge on localization, harnessing knowledge, expertise and resources of local actors and empowering them to create lasting social change. The event was held on October 19, 2019 at the Freedom Square in Yerevan, Armenia.

Humanitarianism in Education Conference focused on the role education plays in shaping socially responsible individuals and opened with the presentations of the 2019 Young Aurora finalists’ projects, followed by other sessions. Drawing on their personal experience with different educational systems, the panelists tackled the issues of motivation, action and empathy, agreeing that having educators who are personally engaged is key to transferring those values to the younger generations. The event was held on October 18, 2019 at the UWC Dilijan in Armenia, also marking the fifth anniversary of the school.

“We all live in the same world. We’ll either destroy it or save it. Universal values, among them faith and love, are the key. We have no other way. In the 21st century, if we don’t change anything, we will destroy ourselves, and our children will have no future,” said Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, while enumerating five personal reasons for co-founding Aurora. He was more than convincing as he said that helping others – rather than money and authority – could make us stronger.

The event was held on October 21, 2019 at the Yerevan State University. The fourth annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was awarded to Mirza Dinnayi, Co-Founder and Director of Luftbrücke Irak (Air Bridge Iraq), just the day before. The fearless Yazidi activist talked to the guests about his doubts and achievements, modern genocides, and the importance of giving our children tools for peaceful coexistence.

Young Aurora Project provides students from UWC schools with the opportunity to design projects that will drive positive change in their communities by addressing humanitarian concerns. In this third year of the competition, three UWC teams were selected for the final round held as part of the Aurora Forum in Armenia. After a competitive final, UWC East Africa’s Smokeless Kitchens team has been selected as the winning team and will go home with $4000 to further develop their project. And in a last-minute twist of the competition, showing just how impressed the jury were with all three projects, both runner-up teams were awarded $2000 each.

2019 Aurora Dialogues took place in Armenia on October 17 – 21, 2019, during the inaugural Aurora Forum. Distinguished humanitarians, academics, philanthropists, business leaders and members of civil society gathered together to drive positive action across some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian, technological, scientific, educational and social challenges.

2019 Aurora Dialogues will take place in Armenia on October 17 – 21, 2019, during the inaugural Aurora Forum. Distinguished humanitarians, academics, philanthropists, business leaders and members of civil society will gather to drive positive action across some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian, technological, scientific, educational and social challenges.

Global humanitarian activists and organizations gathered at the Aurora Dialogues in Berlin on December 11-12 to discuss and identify solutions to some of the world’s most prevalent humanitarian challenges. The event titled “Humanity in a Fragile World – Partnering for Change” focused on discussions about the on-going refugee crisis, displacement and migration, conflict scenarios and the growing trend of populism.

2019 Aurora Dialogues will take place in Armenia on October 17 – 21, 2019, during the inaugural Aurora Forum. Distinguished humanitarians, academics, philanthropists, business leaders and members of civil society will gather to drive positive action across some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian, technological, scientific, educational and social challenges.

The opening panel of the 2018 Aurora Dialogues Berlin brought together Tom Catena, 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate; Wolfgang Huber, Former Chair of the Council, Evangelische Kirche Deutschland (EKD); Cem Özdemir, Member of German Parliament; Düzen Tekkal, Founder and Chairwoman, Háwar, and Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, Director for Human Rights, International Development and Social Affairs. The discussion, moderated by international broadcaster Nik Gowing, was titled A World Under Pressure.

2019 Aurora Dialogues will take place in Armenia on October 17 – 21, 2019, during the inaugural Aurora Forum. Distinguished humanitarians, academics, philanthropists, business leaders and members of civil society will gather to drive positive action across some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian, technological, scientific, educational and social challenges.

The Q&A was part of the 2018 Aurora Dialogues Berlin that brought together global humanitarian activists and organizations. The conversation between Der Tagesspiegel Editor Dorothee Nolte and Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Chair Doctor Tom Catena, physician at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains and 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate, took place on December 11.

The first session of the 2018 Aurora Dialogues Berlin that brought together global humanitarian activists and organizations took place on December 12 and opened with remarks by moderator Nik Gowing, international broadcaster and visiting Professor at Kings College London. Franz Fischler, President of the European Forum Alpbach; Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman, Munich Security Conference; Michael Keating, Executive Director, European Institute of Peace, and Anja Langenbucher, Director Europe Office, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, took part in the discussion titled Humanity in a Fragile World.

The second session of the 2018 Aurora Dialogues Berlin that brought together global humanitarian activists and organizations took place on December 12. It opened with remarks by Michael Werz, Senior Fellow at the Centre for American Progress. Katrine Camilleri, Director, Jesuit Refugee Service in Malta; Saran Kaba Jones, CEO and Founder, FACE Africa; Sunitha Krishnan, 2018 Aurora Humanitarian, and Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General, Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) International, took part in the discussion titled Partnering for Change and moderated by Dorothee Nolte, Editor of Der Tagesspiegel, who introduced the panelists.