The Hilton Foundation announced today that the 2011 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize has been awarded to Handicap International for its work in assisting people with disabilities in situations of poverty, exclusion, conflict and disaster. Awarded annually since 1996, the $1.5 million Hilton Prize is presented to humanitarian associations for their exceptional contribution to alleviating human suffering.
© Eric Roset / Handicap International |
The winner of the Conrad N. Hilton Prize was officially announced in Geneva on Tuesday, 15 March by Judy M. Miller, vice president of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and director of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize, along with Princess Salimah Aga Khan, member of the Hilton Prize jury; Bernard Kouchner, former French Foreign Minister and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo; and Cornelio Sommaruga, former Swiss Secretary of State, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Honorary President of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).
To mark the occasion, Ms. Miller underlined the importance of Handicap International’s work in improving the situation of people with disabilities around the world, particularly during humanitarian crises. Ms. Miller said, “People with disabilities are the most vulnerable in societies and Handicap International has transformed the way the world deals with this under-served group. Through 30 years of innovative leadership and advocacy by Handicap International, more and more countries are assuring that persons with disabilities receive the same rights as everyone else. Handicap International expanded from helping landmine victims to assisting those disabled from disease, injury, war or natural disasters, and millions of lives have been restored due to the work of this organization.”
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According to Ms. Miller, approximately 200 organizations were nominated for the prize this year. There is a rigorous review process, which includes field evaluations for finalist candidates. An evaluator from the Hilton Foundation visited Handicap International in Kenya, where the organization is working in Somali refugee camps. The final selection is made by a prestigious international seven-member jury.
The official 2011 award ceremony will take place on 13 April 2011 in Redwood City, California, as part of the Global Philanthropy Forum, which is attended by hundreds of international philanthropists and corporate and private foundations every year. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and first Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the new U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, will give the keynote address at the Hilton Humanitarian Prize dinner ceremony.
For Handicap International, co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 as founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and laureate of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees’ Nansen Prize in 1996, the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize recognizes nearly 30 years of humanitarian action. According to Jean-Baptiste Richardier, co-founder and executive director of the organization: “Handicap International was created in 1982 to stand up for and give voice to the most vulnerable amongst us, persons with disabilities in particular, living in situations of crisis, whether caused by poverty, conflict or natural disaster. I believe the Hilton jurors chose us in recognition of our work with one of the world’s largest under-served minorities – people with disabilities – with the expectation that we will invest this precious wealth to further enhance our capacity to deliver qualitative and accountable assistance to the most vulnerable people living in destitute situations around the world.”
© Handicap International |
Present in 60 countries, the Handicap International Federation implements more than 300 development and emergency programmes. “In emergencies, the speed with which an organization is able to galvanize assistance on the ground can make a critical difference, not only between life and death, but it can also determine whether a temporary injury becomes a permanent disability,” explained Dr. Richardier. The prize will, therefore, be used to strengthen Handicap International’s disaster preparedness capabilities and to pre-position emergency response resources for rapid action in future crises.
Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, praised Handicap International with the following remarks: “Those who make humanitarian aid their profession are driven by the most noble of missions, that of saving other human beings. Today the Hilton Foundation joins the Nobel Foundation in recognising the work of Handicap International. But the greatest tribute remains all those people who, thanks to Handicap International's humanitarian action have learnt to walk again - as I saw when I visited a project financed by the European Union on my visit to Haiti - and have regained their dignity and are once again standing tall.”
Stephanie Stuart, Director of Handicap International U.K., said, “It is a great honour for Handicap International to be awarded the Hilton Prize, which is the largest humanitarian prize in the world. These funds will enable our organisation to continue helping the most vulnerable people, such as the many thousands of Haitians who lost limbs or sustained other injuries in the devastating earthquake of January 2010. We know from previous disasters that supporting injured and disabled people through the process of rehabilitation and promoting their inclusion in the local community is just as important as providing initial emergency assistance.”
In concluding, Dr. Richardier stressed: “We will, from now on, be in a much stronger position to convince donors to include and to consider the most vulnerable from the onset of an emergency and to ensure that long-term inclusive development for all becomes the norm rather than the exception. Receiving the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize is a great honour and underscores our collective responsibility to serve the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable people.”
To find out more about the Hilton Prize, please contact:
Handicap International UK: Beatrice Cami, +44 (0)7525 101 026, beatrice.cami@hi-uk.org
Hilton Foundation: Barbara Casey, +1 (310) 990-0750, bcasey@cswpr.com
