Social Action Award 2024

Global winner

• University of Cambridge; Commonwealth scholar

  Siddharth led the education portfolio at Street Child-Afghanistan, where he and his team ensured over 60,000 out-of-school children were safe and learning amid political turbulence. He served as a Steering Group Member for USAID’s Global Reading Network and Senior Education Consultant for Teach for Palestine. Previously, Siddharth worked as a Consultant to the Government of Afghanistan and Prime Minister’s Fellow in India, managing education and skill development programmes in insurgency-affected regions.

  South Asia: Siddharth Pillai (Afghanistan)

Global finalists

• University of Oxford; Chevening scholar

  Amanda is the cofounder of Serenas, an NGO providing capacity-building for gender-based violence response services and implementing anti-sexist educational policies within educational departments across Brazil. Aiming to change the root causes of violence against women and girls, Serenas has already impacted over 60,000 public leaders and students in 2,5 years. This year, in partnership with the British Embassy and the Minister of Women, Serenas is responsible for training the national hotline, which supports 720,000 domestic violence survivors annually. Her work is inspired by the legacy of the survivors of rights violations in her family, including her great grandmother, Serena.

  Americas: Amanda Sadalla (Brazil)
• King's College London, University of Cambridge

  Dr Maiduang is a senior academic officer at the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) under the Ministry of Education. He has played a pivotal role in raising the standards of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Thailand to an international level since 2013. He has trained over 92,000 teachers in all 77 provinces in Thailand and is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences in Thailand and beyond.

  East Asia: Dr Alongkot Maiduang (Thailand)
• Birmingham City University; Chevening scholar

  Hamida’s entrepreneurial journey started with a vision to create a positive impact in her hometown of Ganja, Azerbaijan, transforming lives of children, and creating job opportunities, all resulting in the establishment of an education centre. Inspired to adopt a more inclusive approach, Hamida embraced an inclusive education programme designed to cater to children from disadvantaged communities, including mental and physical disabilities, ensuring every child has access to quality education.

  Wider Europe: Hamida Zeynalova (Azerbaijan)
• Bangor University (Prifysgol Bangor); Commonwealth Scholar

  James co-founded the non-profit organisation, Imagine Her (IH), working with rural communities to provide young women, girls, and youth with a robust innovation skillset and essential resources to create sustainable social ventures and impact in Uganda. Their Social Enterprise and Innovation Programme (SEIP) focuses on the economic empowerment of out-of-school women and youth. IH has trained over 900 women and youth and disbursed over 50,000 USD as a fund to entrepreneurs tackling food insecurity, climate change, education, and health disparities.

  Sub-Saharan Africa: James Otai (Uganda)
• School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; Chevening scholar

  Maya is a firm believer in the unifying and transformative power of food. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of FoodBlessed, a youth-led hunger-relief and food-rescue organization.Through her leadership, FoodBlessed provides hot meals and monthly food parcels to the needy while actively combating food loss and waste. With over 4.5 million meals served, 57,000 food parcels distributed, and 3 million tonnes of food rescued from waste, Maya's vision and dedication shine through, making a difference one meal at a time.

  Middle East and North Africa: Maya Terro (Lebanon)
• University of Essex

  Fuelled by her mission of fostering transformational change and shaping a meaningful society, Simina is now a Member of the Chamber of Deputies in the Romanian Parliament and the Vice President of the Renew the European Project of Romania party. She represents the Romanians living abroad in the Parliament, leading the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the United Kingdom. As an MP, she has initiated legislation aimed at combating human trafficking, Diaspora affairs, e-identity cards, and guaranteeing safe abortion procedures.

  Europe: Simina Tulbure (Romania)