Dubai, UAE, May 17, 2017:  Global Residence and Citizenship advisory firm, Henley & Partners is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2017 Global Citizen Award. The Award was established to pay tribute to individuals who work towards improving and supporting the global community, and whose actions have contributed to building a more peaceful and tolerant world. 

Nominations for the 2017 Global Citizen are open to the public. The selection process for the Global Citizen is confidential and the winner will be chosen by a seven-member Award Committee through a majority vote format. The Award Committee is comprised of the following members:

• Her Royal Highness Princess Firyal of Jordan
• Her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of the Republic of Malta
• Senator Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, Secretary of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces, Senate of France
• Professor Dr. Khalid Koser OBE, Executive Director of GCERF and Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Council on Migration, World Economic Forum, Geneva
• Fr. Dr. Marek Urban CSsR, Councilor of the Henley & Partners Foundation, Krakow
• Namira Salim, Artist, Polar Explorer and Virgin Galactic Founder Astronaut, Monaco
• Leigh Foster, Chief of Events, Campaigns and Goodwill Ambassadors, UNHCR, Geneva

Paola De Leo, Henley & Partners’ Head of Philanthropy, says the Committee is looking for an inspirational individual who demonstrates extraordinary vision, courage and commitment in contributing to the advancement of a global issue, whether it is social, political or environmental. “Global issues are defined by the United Nations as issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. They require a concerted action at a global level by governments, international organizations and civil society. The nominee’s work should not remain purely academic, but needs to demonstrate a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable groups in society,” she says. 

The 2017 Global Citizen will be honored at the annual Henley & Partners Global Residence and Citizenship Conference, which will be held this year in Hong Kong on 16 November 2017. The award consists of a USD 50,000 monetary prize, of which USD 25,000 is used in support of the longstanding partnership between Henley & Partners and the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Global Citizen will also receive a specially-made commemorative medal, and an Award Certificate signed by the President of the Award Committee.

The Global Citizen Award was first launched in Dubai, UAE in 2015, and has honored two worthy recipients since then. The first laureate was German entrepreneur, Harold Höppner, who founded the refugee humanitarian aid project Sea Watch which rescued thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach European Union shores. In 2016, the Global Citizen Award was bestowed to humanitarian and founder of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman. Since the start of the Foundation in August 1992, Dr. Sooliman has grown the Gift of the Givers into Africa’s largest disaster relief organization, raising more than USD 155 million in life-saving aid for 42 countries around the world.

De Leo added: “While previous awardees have been connected to the refugee cause, Henley & Partners welcomes nominations from anyone who is making a significant impact on the world’s communities. Forced migration and refugees have for many years been the focus of our philanthropy efforts, but we would equally like to support and honor relevant global causes such as women and girls’ empowerment, child welfare, climate change, as well as water and food security.”