- Climate change activist Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement of school-children have been honoured with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2019.
- According to Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International, the Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty International’s highest honour, celebrating people who have shown unique leadership and courage in standing up for human rights.
About Fridays for Future movement
- The Fridays for Future movement was started by Greta Thunberg, a teenager from Sweden who in August 2018 decided to miss school every Friday and instead protest outside the Swedish parliament until it took more serious action to tackle climate change.
- Her efforts to raise awareness of the climate crisis quickly went global. More than 1 million young people from all over the world took part in the most recent global day of Fridays for Future school strikes on 24 May. Demonstrations were held in more than 100 countries, including Australia, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, the Philippines and Uganda.
About the Ambassador of Conscience Award
- The Ambassador of Conscience Award was founded in 2002 to celebrate individuals and groups who have furthered the cause of human rights by acting on their conscience, confronting injustice and using their talents to inspire others.
- Previous awardees include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Harry Belafonte, Ai Weiwei, the Youth Groups of West and Central Africa, Angélique Kidjo, the Indigenous rights movement in Canada, Alicia Keys and Colin Kaepernick.
