We are looking for the bravest, most warmhearted humans, those possessed with the integrity to defend human rights, so that we can celebrate and recognize them.
We are looking for good deeds that set a precedent in the world of human rights, serve as a force for civic change, and have groundbreaking, transformational power.
We are looking for them because we know they often go unacknowledged and are under-appreciated.
The Human of the Year awards were established by attorney Margarita Ilieva, then-Director of the Legal Aid Program at the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. The BHC presented the awards in recognition of human rights defenders for the very first time on December 10th, 2008, at an official ceremony at Ivan Vazov National Theatre. Since 2009, one or two Human of the Year runners-up have also been distinguished by the jury. Apart from the main awards, the jury also selects categories in which to distinguish other nominees who have made a strong impression. The categories change from year to year, depending on the shortlisted nominations.Â
In total, over 130 awards have been given:
The awards have no monetary value. Their purpose is to offer recognition and publicity to the awardees. They can be given to individuals, collectives, or organizations and are selected by a jury on the basis of objective criteria. The awards are presented on or around December 10th, International Human Rights Day.
The jury will select the most outstanding candidates in the field of human rights, animal rights, and nature conservation from among all the nominations received. The winners will receive a plaque and a certificate. The jury may also award special prizes such as Activist of the Year, Journalist of the Year, etc.
Jury members who have a professional or personal relationship with award nominees shall abstain from voting or participating in the consideration of those candidates.
The jury will select the award winners from all the nominations received. The BHC reserves the right to partially award a nomination or edit the text of nominations.
Everyone (including staff members and long-term partners of the BHC) can submit one or more nominations for an individual or organization.
Nominations received from November 16th of the previous year to November 15th of the current year will be considered. Any nominations received after November 15th will be considered by the jury the following year.
The jury will select the awardees from among all eligible nominations received.
The awards ceremony in 2025 will take place on December 10th.
