Press Release originally published by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.—The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation today announced that Amazon Frontlines—a nonprofit that supports Indigenous peoples in defending their rights to land and their way of life, preserving biodiversity in the Amazon, and protecting the environment—has been selected as the 2024 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize recipient.
Amazon Frontlines is the first organization that promotes a scalable model of Indigenous-led grassroots conservation to receive the Prize. The world’s largest annual humanitarian award, the Hilton Humanitarian Prize is presented to a nonprofit organization judged to have made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.
Each year, the Hilton Foundation reviews nomination submissions from nonprofits throughout the world, and an independent, international panel of distinguished jurors makes the final selection after a rigorous vetting process. The following individuals served on the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize jury: The Right Honourable Helen Clark; Leymah Gbowee; Steven M. Hilton; Sister Joyce Meyer, PBVM; Her Majesty Queen Noor; Zainab Salbi; Ann M. Veneman; and Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León.
Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, states: “The Jury’s selection of Amazon Frontlines to receive the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize highlights the critical role Indigenous communities have in developing policies to protect the environment. For more than a decade, Amazon Frontlines has worked hand-in-hand with Indigenous leaders to develop proven, scalable and sustainable models of locally led conservation—approaches that are vital to protecting the Amazon and therefore our entire planet.”
Since its founding in 2011, Amazon Frontlines has brought human rights lawyers, environmental activists, forestry specialists, scientists, engineers and filmmakers to work hand-in-hand with Indigenous leaders, communities and Nations who collectively steward millions of hectares of forest across the western Amazon. The organization is focused on permanently protecting the rainforest homelands of dozens of Indigenous nations from further mining, drilling and deforestation using grassroots organizing, advocacy, legal defense and cutting-edge technology like GPS mapping and drone and camera trap surveillance.
Through its work, Amazon Frontlines has partnered with Indigenous peoples to win some of the most significant climate victories in recent times, including the A’i Cofan and Waorani people’s triumphs against the mining and oil industries in 2018 and 2019, and a nationwide coalition that won a referendum in 2023 to indefinitely stop oil drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park, one of the most biodiverse territories on Earth and the home to two of the world’s last uncontacted Indigenous populations.
“Our work today in the Amazon is an urgent fight for the futures of all people, and for the Earth itself. We strive for a different future—where the global community deeply understands the land, the forest, the ecosystem, and how it is providing life to all of us, and how interconnected all of us are across the globe,” Nemonte Nenquimo, co-founder of Amazon Frontlines said. “The Prize is a recognition of that work, and an acknowledgement that without the Amazon, there is no future. My life, the lives of my family and people, our homes, our culture, our language, the lives of myriad plant and animal species, many of which are endemic to the Amazon, the life of the forest itself, and the lives of millions of people all depend on it.”
“Since the founding of Amazon Frontlines, we have witnessed the power of collaboration between Indigenous peoples protecting their lands against destruction and exploitation and Western activists committed to listening, learning, and ultimately leveraging powerful tools, such as laws, tech, media to build lasting preservation of our rainforests,” said Mitch Anderson, executive director and co-founder of Amazon Frontlines. “The Hilton Humanitarian Prize is a bolt of energy to our movement when the world needs it most.”
Amazon Frontlines will receive the Prize at the 2024 Hilton Humanitarian Prize Ceremony on Oct. 9, 2024, at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Calif.
Nominations for the 2026 Hilton Humanitarian Prize are open now.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation:
Founded by international hotelier Conrad N. Hilton in 1944, the Foundation invests in organizations tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges. We think big about solutions, working in partnership with local communities to improve lives, strengthen systems, and advocate for change. Our approach is rooted in our values, and inspired by the resilience of the communities with whom we work. The Foundation partners with organizations worldwide, with a special focus on Africa, South America, and the United States, including our home in Los Angeles. Additionally, following selection by an independent, international jury, the Foundation annually awards the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to an organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. The Foundation is one of the world’s largest, with approximately $7 billion in assets. It has awarded grants to date totaling more than $3.2 billion worldwide, and $290 million in 2023. Visit www.hiltonfoundation.org for more information.
Amazon Frontlines:
Amazon Frontlines is a nonprofit organization based in the Upper Amazon, with headquarters in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, that helps Indigenous peoples work together to leverage technology, laws, media, clean energy, the global economy, and their forest knowledge to protect their way of life, their lands, and our climate. For more information, visit www.amazonfrontlines.org.
