ABU DHABI, 9th November, 2026 (WAM) — The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has received a record of over 380 nominations from more than 90 countries worldwide for its 2027 edition, marking the highest number of submissions and broadest geographical reach in the award’s history.
The 2027 edition attracted first-time nominations from 21 countries, including Ethiopia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The highest number of nominations came from the UAE, Brazil, the US, Egypt, and India.
Nominations for the international and independent award, which includes a US$1 million financial prize, span a broad range of humanitarian causes, from promoting peaceful coexistence and intercultural understanding to advancing education, healthcare, climate action, and the empowerment of People of Determination and elderly people.
The submissions will now be reviewed by the award’s 2027 judging committee, which brings together five distinguished international figures, namely: 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 the Parliament of Kazakhstan; and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture at the Holy See.
The judging committee will select the award’s next recipient(s) who will be honoured during a ceremony in Abu Dhabi in February 2027.
Named in honour of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the UAE, the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity recognises individuals and organisations of all backgrounds, anywhere in the world, making outstanding contributions to human fraternity and peaceful coexistence.
The award was established following the historic meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2019 between the late His Holiness Pope Francis, 266th pope of the Catholic Church, and His Eminence Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, during which the two religious leaders signed the historic Document on Human Fraternity.
Source: Emirates News Agency