NEW YORK – They’ve created a marine conservation research center in Sri Lanka, combined local knowledge with established science to find new approaches to fight climate change, advocated for digital literacy for kids in Afghanistan, and championed palliative care in Rwanda.

Meet the established and emerging leaders selected for the 2021 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, designed to recognize people whose work is original, courageous, and has the potential to improve life for people across national boundaries. The Prize and leadership initiatives at the Tällberg Foundation are supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

“The energy, the altruism, and the fresh ideas of the emerging leaders this prize seeks to honor give us hope for true progress on the biggest problems we face today,” said SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “Their work is important, but so is their fundamental optimism in undertaking it—it’s a call to all of us to act now and make a positive impact however we can.”

Anyone can make an online nomination for the Prize, and finalists were selected from 2,414 nominees hailing from 126 countries. Winners, selected by jury, are awarded $50,000 in the established leaders category and $25,000 in the emerging leaders category.