We are delighted to be among the 12 finalists of this year’s Ockenden International Prize. The prize, launched in 2012, recognizes organizations that aid refugees or displaced persons. Through SINA, “Marginalized and refugee communities are creating their own sustainable solutions through Freesponsible and Self-organized Learning Spaces,” and empowers refugees and displaced persons by turning them into active drivers of their own destinies as changemaker-makers and social entrepreneurs.
The four overall winners and recipients of cash prizes, worth £25,000 each, will be announced in London at the end of March. An international jury will recognize and reward innovative work that delivers evidential self-reliance to refugees and/or internally displaced persons. The other finalists include organizations from the United Kingdom, Kenya, Malaysia, Iraq, Myanmar, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Serbia, and Zimbabwe, working on employment and education programs, clothes shopping initiatives, community building, mental health, legal assistance, and psychosocial support.
The 2023 Ockenden International Prizes received a record 169 entries, making this year’s shortlist particularly notable. The chair of Ockenden International, Judith Ingham, said the finalists’ work is helping tens of thousands of refugees, forced migrants, and displaced people and their communities. The winners of the awards will receive funding to extend their projects, pioneer best practices, and increase their reach, providing much-needed support in what remains one of the most challenging and defining global issues of the day.