10 Awards for Social Engagement

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Klaus J. Jacobs Awards, the Jacobs Foundation has awarded ten prizes to social innovators in the field of child and youth development.

About 300 international guests from politics, business, science, culture and social affairs attended the extraordinary awards ceremony and film premiere on 30 November 2018 at the Kraftwerk Innovation Space in Zurich. This year’s award ceremony was entirely dedicated to the founder of the foundation, Klaus J. Jacobs, who died in 2008: “If you want to move forward, you need to take action” – this was a motto that Klaus J. Jacobs embraced throughout his life. He was an entrepreneur – he wanted to move forward, and he wanted others to do so as well. That is why he was socially engaged. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Klaus J. Jacobs Awards, the foundation honored 10 outstanding change agents in memory of Klaus J. Jacobs.

These 10 prizes recognize 10 social innovators in the field of child and youth development, who are working tirelessly to achieve social change. They have found affordable, sustainable ways to promote positive development that can be easily implemented. They are beyond talking –– they act. In keeping with Klaus J. Jacobs conviction that moving forward requires taking action!

The following ten social innovators and change makers in the field of child and youth development were honoured:

  • Boris Bulayev (Uganda),
  • Rana Dajani (Jordan),
  • Luke Dowdney (Brazil),
  • Noreen Huni (South Africa),
  • Lucia Kossarova (Slovakia),
  • Nathalia Mesa (Colombia),
  • Selcuk Sirin (Turkey),
  • Judy Stuart (South Africa),
  • Agatha Thapa (Nepal),
  • James Urdang (South Africa).

More information and selected pictures of the award ceremony can be found here.