Congratulations to the 2025 Recipients of the Louis Anderson and Vicent Martinez World Citizenship Award
Thank you to everyone who submitted their projects. After interviewing the finalist teams, we selected the project Thrilling, a collaborative effort led by three young friends around the world: Julianne Huang from Oregon, USA, Tariq Lawal from Lagos, Nigeria, and Aman Shah Kabiri from Kabul, Afghanistan. Please meet our award recipients!
Applications for the 2026 award open in September 2025.
Tariq Lawal is a multiple award-winning, multifaceted creative, civic media practitioner, and budding social entrepreneur from Lagos, Nigeria. He is committed to advocating for both people and the planet, and to developing innovative solutions that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Through his initiative, Lagos Island Literacy Project, he promotes diverse literacies and fosters global citizenship among underserved children and youth in Nigeria.
A global citizen at heart, he dedicates himself to initiatives and youth-led efforts that advance social justice, environmental conservation, digital wellness, human rights, and collective well-being. Tariq is a recipient of a United Nations award for his involvement in the UNODC #BeWildForNature Campaign. His use of diverse artistic forms to amplify under-discussed societal issues also earned him Global Citizen’s recognition as one of their 2024 Emerging Creatives.
About Thrilling:
Thrilling is a youth-powered project that fosters connection across diverse backgrounds, promotes global citizenship, and creates safe spaces for marginalized communities both online and offline.
What began as a simple WhatsApp group chat has grown into a global movement supporting and empowering young people worldwide. They encourage youth to take meaningful action to tackle pressing issues, create safe space for healthy and respectful dialogue, offer emotional support to youth dealing with mental health challenges, and nurture friendships.
Through local sub-projects, Thrilling bridges grassroots efforts with global impact. Their mission is to create a united and compassionate global community that makes young people feel seen, valued, and part of a collective effort to create a better world.
For questions about our 2026 award, please email director@sjcinitiative.org
Julianne Huang is a rising Senior from Oregon, USA. She is passionate about AI ethics and literacy. In her work, she has spoken to 600+ students, community members, and educators introducing them to everything from the fundamentals of AI to deep fakes and facial recognition technology and spearheaded efforts to develop a program empowering youth leaders to advocate for the voices of students. This year, Julianne authored an AI in Education Implementation Framework with the guidance of Oregon's Department of Education which provides policy suggestions from the student perspective for the ethical integration of AI into schools. Throughout the last couple months, this document has been used as a resource for the 70+ educators and administrators at her education service districts AI Educators Cohort as they work to bring AI into classrooms around her state. Julianne is grateful to have won the World Citizenship Award and she looks forward to using the prize money to aid in her advocacy efforts.
Aman Shah Kabiri is a student at the American University of Afghanistan, majoring in Computer Science, and a senior studying Public Administration and Policy at Kabul University. He is the founder of Afghan Girls Success Gate, a nonprofit organization established after the Taliban’s return to power to provide digital learning opportunities and online classes for Afghan girls. Through this work, he empowers girls across Afghanistan and the diaspora to become independent, resilient, and prepared for a brighter future despite severe restrictions on their education. Aman is also an active women’s rights advocate, working to amplify the voices of Afghan women and champion equal access to education. His activism combines digital tools, community organizing, and global engagement to support marginalized youth. In recognition of his leadership and impact, Aman was awarded the 2025 World Citizenship Award.
The Louis Anderson and Vicent Martinez World Citizenship Award is a $1500 cash award for youths 13 to 25 years of age working with people of diverse socio-economic, religious, ethnic, or national backgrounds to build bridges of friendship and advance the consciousness of our common humanity. Only teams of three or more are eligible to apply. Individual applications will not be accepted.
As part of your application process, we ask you to watch the interviews on our “World Citizenship Series”, select one of them, and then write, on the link below, a 600-750 word essay comparing and contrasting your response to those of the interviewee in regards to the questions below (one essay per team):
1. What is the source of your hope and courage to express solidarity to everyone, even in the face of criticism or apathy?
2. How can the youth remain hopeful and practice in their daily lives the courage to extend solidarity to every human being?
3. How can educators help youth develop a sense of belonging to one human family?
4. How does your project reflect your response to questions 1 to 3 above?