The Award

The Global Pluralism Award celebrates achievement and excellence in the field of pluralism.

Presented every other year to individuals, organizations, governments and businesses from around the world, the Award celebrates the inspiring and brave work that is helping to build more inclusive societies where diversity is valued and protected.

 

The Award is conferred by the Global Centre for Pluralism and made possible in part by the generous support of TD Bank Group. The Global Centre for Pluralism is an independent, charitable organization founded by His Highness the Aga Khan and the Government of Canada. The Centre works with policy leaders, educators and community builders around the world to amplify and implement the transformative power of pluralism.

The Award aims to

  • Raise the international profile of pluralism, defined as a principle of respect for diversity.
  • Identify and disseminate innovative and successful approaches to pluralism globally.
  • Recognize and raise the profile of exemplary organizations, individuals or other entities seeking to advance pluralism.

Who is Eligible?


  • A wide range of disciplines

    Candidates must demonstrate remarkable and sustained achievement in any of the wide range of disciplines related to pluralism. These disciplines include:

    • Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution
    • Education
    • The Arts
    • Social Cohesion
    • Migration and Integration
    • Development
    • Media and Technology
    • Human Rights

     

    Please note that the above is not an exhaustive list.

  • Global candidates

    Candidates from any country are eligible, including:

    • Individuals (artists, journalists, academics, policymakers, filmmakers, etc.)
    • Civil society organizations (professional associations, faith-based organizations, labour unions, non-profit research or educational institutions, local community groups, non-governmental organizations, foundations, think tanks, etc.)
    • Social enterprises
    • Corporations
    • Educational, research and policy institutions (public or private)
    • Local/municipal, regional or federal/national branches or agencies of government

     

    Please note that the above is not an exhaustive list.

  • Requirements
    • Candidates must be living. The Award cannot be given posthumously.
    • Candidates must not be an agency or employee of any of the Centre’s founding partners, namely the Government of Canada and the Aga Khan Development Network.
    • Candidates must not be members of the jury, the Centre’s Board or staff or a consultant receiving remuneration from the Centre at the time of nomination. Close relations and organizations owned or operated by the jury, Screening Committee, the Centre’s Board members and staff are also non-eligible.
    • Individuals and organizations nominated for the Award must not have been found guilty of committing violent crimes, terrorism, or other criminal activities; or have publicly held extremist views.

What is Pluralism?

Diversity in society is a universal fact; how societies respond to diversity is a choice. Pluralism is a positive response to diversity. It involves taking decisions and actions, as individuals and societies, that are grounded in respect for diversity. Those working towards pluralism recognize, value and respect diversity as a basis for more just, peaceful and equitable societies.

Pluralism is intersectional, considering multiple dimensions and expressions of identity to include race, ethnicity, indigeneity, religion, culture, language, neurodiversity, dis/ability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Pluralist societies go beyond simply including diverse peoples and communities into existing institutions and cultures. By embracing pluralism, societies make changes that lead to the recognition, belonging and full participation of every person. This allows people’s lives, communities and institutions to be enriched with new perspectives and ideas.

Because this touches all aspects of society, pluralism requires multi-dimensional efforts and leadership, from the local to the national to the transnational. Leadership for pluralism occurs therefore in multiple domains, including policy-making, inclusive citizenship, education, media, peacebuilding, interreligious dialogue, social entrepreneurship and the arts.

Read more about how the Centre understands pluralism

Featured Videos

2023 Global Pluralism Award Week

Jury Introduction to the 2023 Global Pluralism Award

2023 Global Pluralism Award Ceremony

The Award Jury

The Global Pluralism Award jury is comprised of international experts from various disciplines related to pluralism. Jurors have championed the values upon which the Award is founded: respect for human diversity and promotion of more inclusive societies.

Read the press release about the 2023 Global Pluralism Award jury here.

The 2025 Award jury will be announced in May 2024.

Dr. Marwan Muasher (Chair)

Jordan – Chair

Dr. Marwan Muasher

Vice President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Most recently, he was senior vice president of external affairs at the World Bank from 2007 to 2010. Previous to that, Muasher served as foreign minister (2002–2004) and deputy prime minister (2004–2005) of Jordan. In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan’s first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 became minister of information and the government spokesperson. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as ambassador, negotiating the first free trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. He has authored two books, The Second Arab Awakening, published by Yale University Press in January 2014 and The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation, also published by Yale University Press, June 2008. He served on the Global Centre for Pluralism’s Board of Directors from 2015 to 2019, and has served on the American University of Beirut’s Board of Trustees since 2007.

Ambassador Annika Söder

Sweden

Ambassador Annika Söder

Chair, European Institute of Peace and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ambassador Annika Söder is the Chair of the European Institute of Peace. She is also a member of the Swedish Women’s mediation network, and a member of the group of eminent persons appointed by the UN Secretary General to assist in the 2020 review of UN peace building. Annika Söder served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden between 2014 and 2019. In that capacity, she led the government’s work on conflict resolution and facilitation, in particular on North Korea and on Yemen. Before that, she was Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation working on UN matters, UN reform, peace building and the SDGs. She has also been a senior manager and ADG of the UN FAO, responsible for external relations, partnerships, interagency affairs and communications. Previously, she served as State Secretary for International Development Cooperation in the Swedish Government and as spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, and in several positions as foreign policy advisor to prime and foreign ministers.

Ms. Kim Ghattas

Lebanon

Ms. Kim Ghattas

Author and journalist

Kim Ghattas is an Emmy-award winning journalist who covered the Middle East and the US foreign policy for twenty years for the BBC and the Financial Times. She is the author of, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Forty Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture Religion and Collective Memory in the Middle East, and, The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Beirut.

Bishop Precious Omuku

Nigeria

Bishop Precious Omuku

Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Representative on Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bishop Omuku had a 33-year career in the private sector in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Five years before retirement, he was ordained a priest and started his vocation with church planting in Lagos, Nigeria. He has held a number of board level, trustee, and governing council positions in industry, academia, community-based, and international financial institutions. In 2014, he joined the Lambeth Palace team as the Archbishop’s Advisor on Anglican Communion Affairs, and came into his current position in 2017. He was consecrated Bishop of South Sudan and Sudan in 2016. Bishop Omuku is involved with dialogue to end the South Sudan and other conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Hon. Ratna Omidvar

Canada

The Hon. Ratna Omidvar

International expert on diversity and migration

The Honourable Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. She came to Canada from Iran in 1981 and her own experiences of displacement, integration and citizen engagement have been the foundation of her work. Ms. Omidvar is a Director at the Century Initiative, a Councilor on the World Refugee and Migration Council and Chair Emerita for the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. Previously at Ryerson University, Ms. Omidvar was a Distinguished Visiting Professor and founded the Global Diversity Exchange. Ms. Omidvar was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011, with both honours recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants and devotion to reducing inequality in Canada. In 2014, Ms. Omidvar received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of German-Canadian relations. She is the co-author of the book, Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada (2015).

Ms. Reeta Roy

Canada

Ms. Reeta Roy

President and CEO, Mastercard Foundation

A values-based and entrepreneurial leader, Reeta holds nearly three decades of global experience across the private and philanthropic sectors. Today, she is the President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation—one of the largest private foundations in the world, with approximately $40 billion in assets. Reeta has helped define the Foundation’s vision and strategies, instill a listening culture, and build a diverse and talented global team and network of partners. Under her leadership, the Mastercard Foundation has focused its work on Africa—where it is currently implementing its Young Africa Works strategy to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030—and serving young Indigenous Canadians through its EleV initiative. Overall, the Foundation has deployed over $6 billion to improve education, deepen financial inclusion, and build resilience in the wake of COVID-19. Prior to joining the Foundation, Reeta served as the inaugural Divisional Vice President of Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott Laboratories and Vice President of the Abbott Fund, its corporate foundation. Reeta believes in the potential of philanthropy to drive impact at scale by listening first.

Ms. Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil

Mexico

Ms. Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil

Ayuujk linguist, writer, translator and Indigenous human rights activist

Born in Ayutla Mixe, Oaxaca, Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil is an Ayuujk linguist, writer, translator, and human-rights activist. She works with Ayuujk, Spanish and English languages. She is a member of COLMIX, a collective of young Mixe people who carry out research on Mixe language, history, and culture. In February 2019, she was invited to the ordinary session of the 14th Legislature in the Chamber of Deputies within the framework of the International Year of Indigenous Languages to give a speech in Mixe, in which she spoke about the condition of Mexico’s Indigenous languages. She has written for a variety of media in Mexico, including Letras Libres, Nexos, and Revista de la Universidad de México.