Amazon Frontlines is the first organization
that promotes a scalable, proven model of Indigenous-led
conservation and the first organization operating exclusively in
South America to receive the Hilton Humanitarian Prize
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation today announced that Amazon
Frontlines—a nonprofit that supports Indigenous people in defending
their rights to land and their way of life, preserving biodiversity
in the Amazon, and protecting the environment—has been selected as
the 2024 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize recipient.
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the full release here:
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Amazon Frontlines co-founders Mitch
Anderson and Nemonte Nenquimo (center) with partners from the
Indigenous organization Ceibo Alliance. The Conrad N. Hilton
Foundation announced on August 13, 2024, that Amazon Frontlines
will receive the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. (Photo:
Christopher Fragapane/Amazon Frontlines)
Amazon Frontlines is the first organization of Indigenous and
Western human rights and climate activists to receive the Prize.
The world’s largest annual humanitarian award, the Prize is
presented to a nonprofit organization judged to have made
extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.
Each year, the Hilton Foundation reviews nomination submissions
from nonprofits throughout the world, and an independent,
international panel of distinguished jurors makes the final
selection after a rigorous vetting process. The following
individuals served on the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize jury: The
Right Honourable Helen Clark; Leymah Gbowee; Steven M. Hilton;
Sister Joyce Meyer, PBVM; Her Majesty Queen Noor; Zainab Salbi; Ann
M. Veneman; and Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León.
Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton
Foundation, states: “The Jury’s selection of Amazon Frontlines
to receive the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize highlights the
critical role Indigenous communities have in developing policies to
protect the environment. For more than a decade, Amazon Frontlines
has worked hand-in-hand with Indigenous leaders to develop proven,
scalable, and sustainable models of locally led
conservation—approaches that are vital to protecting the Amazon and
therefore our entire planet.”
Since its founding in 2011, Amazon Frontlines has focused on
permanently protecting the rainforest homelands of dozens of
Indigenous nations from further mining, drilling, and deforestation
using grassroots organizing, advocacy, legal defense, and
cutting-edge technology like GPS mapping and drone and camera trap
surveillance.
Through its work, Amazon Frontlines has partnered with
Indigenous peoples to win some of the most significant climate
victories in recent times, including the A'i Cofán and Waorani
people’s triumphs in protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of
rainforest and establishing legal precedents for Indigenous rights
in the Amazon and a nationwide coalition that won a referendum in
2023 to indefinitely stop oil drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuni National
Park. This is one of the most biodiverse territories on Earth and
the home to two of the world’s last uncontacted Indigenous
populations.
“Our work today in the Amazon is an urgent fight for the futures
of all people, and for the Earth itself. We strive for a different
future—where the global community deeply understands the land, the
forest, and the ecosystem, and how it is providing life to all of
us, and how interconnected all of us are across the globe,”
Nemonte Nenquimo, co-founder of Amazon Frontlines said. “The
Prize is a recognition of that work, and an acknowledgement that
without the Amazon, there is no future. My life, the lives of my
family and people, our homes, our culture, our language, the lives
of myriad plant and animal species—many of which are endemic to the
Amazon, the life of the forest itself, and the lives of millions of
people all depend on it.”
"Since the founding of Amazon Frontlines, we have witnessed the
power of collaboration between Indigenous peoples protecting their
lands against destruction and Western activists committed to
listening, learning, and partnering to secure lasting preservation
of our rainforests,” said Mitch Anderson, executive director and
co-founder of Amazon Frontlines. “Time is running out to avoid
a climate catastrophe, but Indigenous peoples hold the solutions
and wisdom needed to solve this climate crisis. The Hilton
Humanitarian Prize is a bolt of energy to our movement when the
world needs it most."
Amazon Frontlines will receive the Prize at the 2024 Hilton
Humanitarian Prize Ceremony on Oct. 9, 2024, at The Beverly Hilton
in Los Angeles, Calif.
Nominations for the Hilton Humanitarian Prize are open
year-round.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation:
Founded by international hotelier Conrad N. Hilton in 1944, the
Foundation invests in organizations tackling some of the world’s
toughest challenges. We think big about solutions, working in
partnership with local communities to improve lives, strengthen
systems, and advocate for change. The Foundation partners with
organizations worldwide, with a special focus on Africa, South
America, and the United States, including our home in Los Angeles.
Additionally, following selection by an independent, international
jury, the Foundation annually awards the Conrad N. Hilton
Humanitarian Prize to an organization doing extraordinary work to
reduce human suffering. The Foundation is one of the world’s
largest, with approximately $7 billion in assets. It has awarded
grants to date totaling more than $3.2 billion worldwide, and $290
million in 2023. Visit www.hiltonfoundation.org for more
information.
Amazon Frontlines:
Amazon Frontlines is a nonprofit organization based in the Upper
Amazon, with headquarters in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, that helps
Indigenous peoples work together to leverage technology, laws,
media, clean energy, the global economy, and their forest knowledge
to protect their way of life, their lands, and our climate. For
more information, visit www.amazonfrontlines.org.
Visuals: Photos are available to the media. Broll available on
request.
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Haines & Co. Integrated Communications (Media):
Nerissa R. Silao nerissas@ca.rr.com 310-874-9230
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Contact: Flavia Draganus –
Director, Communications Flavia.d@hiltonfoundation.org
347-556-5973
Amazon Frontlines Contact: Sophie Pinchetti – External
Communications Manager sophie@amazonfrontlines.org (+593)
939-918-899