Aurora Humanitarian Initiative welcomes new members to the prestigious Selection Committee for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

29 November 2018 – The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has announced additions to the 2019 Selection Committee for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.  

During the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative’s Chronicle of Compassion event in Moscow, co-founder Ruben Vardanyan announced two new additions to the prestigious Selection Committee for the Aurora Prize. Joining the Committee are celebrated human rights advocate and campaigner John Prendergast as well as famed Moscow based conductor and patron of the arts, Valery Gergiev.

 

At the Chronicle of Compassion event, Ruben Vardanyan said: “It is an honour to welcome two leading international figures to join the Aurora Prize Selection Committee. The Selection Committee is a truly global body representing leading lights of modern humanitarianism and shows that the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative continues to be a beacon during a dark time. 

John Prendergast has been a powerful voice and long-time champion of initiatives to prevent genocide in central and east Africa and he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Through his own charitable foundation Valery Gergiev has been an advocate for the power of culture and music to support young gifted musicians as well as organising charity concerts whose proceeds go to those in need. We know both members will bring fresh perspectives and dynamism to their roles.”

John Prendergast is a world renowned human rights activist and founder of the Enough Project, an initiative established to end genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the Co-Founder with George Clooney of The Sentry, and board member of Not On Our Watch (NOOW). He has worked in and written extensively about pressing issues in Sudan, Darfur, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Valery Gergiev is a widely-respected conductor based in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. He was a former Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and has performed in over 45 countries around the world. He founded the charitable Valery Gergiev Foundation to support the growth of artistic, social and cultural projects in Russia and promote young gifted performers and musical groups performing classical music

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo; Médecins Sans Frontières co-founder and former foreign minister of France Bernard Kouchner; Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London Professor Lord Ara Darzi; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and is co-chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney. The Selection Committee was, until his passing in 2016, co-chaired by Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor and President of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award established to recognize modern day heroes and the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes in the face of adversity. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate is honored each year between 2015 and 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923, with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

 

About the new Selection Committee Members 

John Prendergast

John Prendergast is a human rights and anti-corruption activist as well as a New York Times best-selling author who has focused on peace in Africa for over thirty-five years. He is the Founding Director of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the Co-Founder with George Clooney of The Sentry, an investigative initiative following the money of war criminals and their commercial collaborators. 

John has previously worked for the Clinton White House, the State Department, two members of Congress, the National Intelligence Council, UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the U.S. Institute of Peace.  

John is the author or co-author of eleven books. His newest, Congo Stories: Battling Five Centuries of Exploitation and Greed, co-authored with Fidel Bafilemba and featuring Ryan Gosling’s photographs, will be published in December 2018.  His previous works included a book co-authored with Don Cheadle: Not On Our Watch, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction book of the year, and The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes.

 

Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev is Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, founder and Artistic Director of the Stars of the White Nights Festival and New Horizons Festival in St. Petersburg, the Moscow Easter Festival, the Gergiev Rotterdam Festival in the Netherlands, the Mikkeli International Festival in Finland, the Red Sea Festival in Eilat, Israel, and is Principal Conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace.

For over 30 years Valery Gergiev has taken the Mariinsky Ballet, Opera and Orchestra ensembles to over 45 countries.  He was previously Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra until 2015, performing with the LSO at the Barbican, the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival, as well as on extensive tours of Europe, North America and Asia.

He founded the charitable Valery Gergiev Foundation to support the growth of artistic, social and cultural projects in Russia and promote young gifted performers and musical groups performing classical music.  His awards include the Dmitri Shostakovich Award, Netherland’s Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun and the French Order of the Légion d'Honneur.

 

  -   Press release