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Meet the 6 Honourees for the 2023 Global Goals Awards
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the six award recipients of the 2023 Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards.
According to the foundation, “Goalkeepers is the foundation’s campaign to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). By sharing stories and data behind the Global Goals through an annual report, the Gates Foundation hopes to inspire a new generation of leaders—Goalkeepers who raise awareness of progress, hold their leaders accountable, and drive action to achieve the Global Goals.”
The awards ceremony was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 19 and was hosted by award-winning journalist, TV host, and author Elaine Welteroth.
The participants at the ceremony included Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, President William Ruto of Kenya, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and more than 400 young changemakers from around the world.
This year’s awards include:
The 2023 Global Goalkeeper Award, which recognises a leader who has driven progress on a global scale towards achieving the Global Goals, was presented to the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, for championing resilient, equitable, and sustainable universal health coverage for all; embedding the Global Goals in Japan’s development cooperation charter; and strengthening the global health architecture to prevent future pandemics.
The 2023 Campaign Award, which celebrates a campaign that has raised awareness or built a community by inspiring action and creating change, was presented to The Farmlink Project, founded by Aidan Reilly, Ben Collier, and James Kanoff, for its work advocating for and building community around food equity in the United States. Through its network of more than 600 student fellows and 6,000 volunteers, the Farmlink Project has provided 83 million meals and transferred more than 130 million pounds of nutritious food to communities facing hunger.
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The 2023 Changemaker Award, which celebrates an individual who has inspired change using personal experience or from a position of leadership, was presented to Ashu Martha Agbornyenty for her work reducing high rates of maternal mortality in Cameroon. She writes about the work of midwives and shares her knowledge on pregnancy through her blog, Marthie’s Midwifery Diary. Through her For Mom & Baby Foundation, she and her team provide community workshops and distribute emergency kits containing essential birth supplies to pregnant women in crisis-stricken areas, reaching 1,000 women and girls in the region since 2021.
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The 2023 Progress Award, which celebrates an individual who supports progress via a science, technology, digital, or business initiative, was presented to journalist, social entrepreneur, digital innovator, and human rights activist Eden Tadesse. Tadesse founded the online platform Invicta, a global impact platform that promotes digital financial inclusion, skills development, and access to job opportunities for urban refugees. More than 35,000 people from 90 countries have registered on Invicta, with 7,000 of them completing online courses and more than 2,200 refugees finding employment.
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Special recognition awards were presented to Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, and Bono for their tireless work over many decades towards global health and development.
The Goalkeepers Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, honouring their extraordinary work on disease eradication, mental health, democracy, conflict resolution, human rights, and, most notably, combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as Guinea worm disease, river blindness, and malaria. The award was accepted on their behalf by Paige Alexander, CEO of the Carter Center, and Jason Carter, chair of the Carter Center Board of Trustees.
The Goalkeepers Voice Award was presented to Bono, founder of the ONE Campaign and (RED), lead singer of the band U2, and activist, for his significant impact on SDG progress through advocacy and campaigning with ONE and (RED).
The event also included special performances by Tiwa Savage, a Nigerian singer-songwriter and actress; Usha Jey, a Tamil dancer and choreographer; Zara Larsson, a Swedish singer-songwriter; and the Harlem Gospel Choir.
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The daytime event had in attendance: Jon Batiste, an American musician and singer; David Oyelowo, an actor, director, and producer; Titilope Sonuga, a Nigerian poet and former poet laureate; and Sallie Krawcheck, founder of Ellevest.
The full text of the 2023 Goalkeepers Report can be found here.
