AFRICA: the call for entries for the 5th Gulbenkian climate prize (1million euros) launched

One million euros is up for grabs in the fifth call for entries for the Gulbenkian Prize, which promotes climate innovation across the planet.

For its fifth year, the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity is focusing on the climate. Individuals, start-ups, local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) from all over the world, including Africa, who have developed concrete initiatives to strengthen the climate resilience of local communities have until 2 February 2024 to apply.

The winning entry will receive €1 million from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, named after the Armenian industrialist. Each idea put forward must have “a real impact on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular climate ambitions at both national and global level”, says the organisation, which is based in Lisbon, Portugal.

To this end, the jurors will be placing “particular” emphasis on mobilising young people, scientific research and leadership in ecosystem restoration. “This prize encourages exemplary action in climate change mitigation and reminds us that people must always be at the heart of any effort in this area,” explains Angela Merkel, chair of the jury and former Chancellor of Germany.

The 2022 winner was a trio of environmental activists made up of Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, an environmental activist and agronomist in Cameroon, Lélia Wanick Salgado, an environmentalist and designer in Brazil, and Apai Janggut, a traditional chief in Indonesia. In 2021, the Gulbenkian Prize was awarded to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) at the 26th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Cover photo: By Afrik21