The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative announced today that Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani and Founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, has joined the Selection Committee for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, a $1 million global humanitarian award. Mr. Ulukaya joins distinguished members of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee to choose the Aurora Prize Humanitarians and Laureate.
“Hamdi embodies Aurora’s core tenet of Gratitude in Action and has made significant contributions to the world through his work, advocacy and philanthropy,” said Noubar Afeyan, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. “We are grateful for Hamdi’s outstanding efforts and look forward to his active participation as a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee.”
“Hamdi Ulukaya is not only an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, but a relentless advocate for refugees and displaced persons who has made a tremendous impact on the lives of others, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Selection Committee,” said Lord Ara Darzi, Chair of Aurora Prize Selection Committee and Co-Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. “The Aurora Prize will benefit greatly from Hamdi’s expertise and perspective that will further enhance the ability for the Aurora Prize to continue to strengthen its impact on those most in need.”
“I am honored to join the Aurora Prize Selection Committee to help elevate and expand the work of modern-day heroes who put themselves at risk to address the most pressing humanitarian challenges worldwide,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani and Founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees. “Aurora recognizes power of one individual on the world, and I look forward to joining this esteemed group to help uncover and showcase the courageous work of unsung humanitarian heroes around the world.”
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will hold a special series of events on May 8–10, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA, organized in partnership with The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA. Leading humanitarians will come together to discuss the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues and announce the 2024 Aurora Prize Laureate.
About Hamdi Ulukaya
Hamdi Ulukaya was raised in a dairy-farming family in a small village in eastern Türkiye and, after moving to the United States, launched Chobani in 2007 with the mission of making good-quality food more accessible. As a leader in the food manufacturing industry, Ulukaya built Chobani on the foundation that it would do well by doing good, and quickly gained recognition for his employee-first policies and for becoming a leading voice in the movement to hire refugees. Inspired by his refugee employees, Ulukaya started the Tent Partnership for Refugees in 2016, a global nonprofit that mobilizes the business community to connect refugees to work. Its network of more than 300 companies and counting around the world – including Amazon, Blackstone, Hilton, PepsiCo, and Pfizer – are committed to including refugees through hiring, training, and mentorship. Ulukaya has since been named an Eminent Advocate by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and one of Time‘s 100 Most Influential People in the World for his work on the refugee crisis and his innovative approach to business.
About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a $1 million global award that recognizes those who risk their lives, health, or freedom to save the lives, health, or freedom of others. It has shone a spotlight on some of the world’s most pressing and overlooked crises since its foundation in 2015. The 2024 Aurora Humanitarians shortlisted for the 2024 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity were named on September 18, 2023, at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting in New York City:
- Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja (Bahrain/Denmark), a human rights advocate who has been fearlessly defending the most vulnerable communities in Bahrain.
- Denis Mukwege (Democratic Republic of the Congo), a gynecologist and human rights activist who has been working to provide medical, legal, and psychosocial aid to women subjected to sexualized and gender-based violence.
- Nasrin Sotoudeh (Iran), a human rights defender who has been working as an attorney since 2003, representing Iranian opposition activists, young prisoners, and women’s rights activists.
The 2024 Aurora Prize Laureate will be announced at a Ceremony to take place in Los Angeles, California in May 2024.
About the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to address on-the-ground humanitarian challenges around the world with a focus on helping the most destitute. Uniquely dedicated to discovering and supporting the world’s unsung humanitarian heroes in order to enable and raise awareness of their courageous work, Aurora has made a significant impact on the lives of those in greatest need.
