Winners are selected by an independent Jury of internationally recognised experts in climate science, technology and politics. The President of the Jury is former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. The selection process is carried out in three stages.

Firstly, the Scientific Council – comprised of Jury members – evaluates all nominations to ensure they meet the selection criteria and proposes a consolidated list of candidates. Secondly, all Jury members meet in person to deliberate all candidates, identify the top ranked nominations, and propose a winner.

The final decision will be taken by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Board of Trustees, based on the proposal presented by the Jury.

Appeals cannot be made against the decision taken by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Winners are chosen for their proven achievements and inspirational leadership, as well as their potential for wider transformative impact, and relevance to the most pressing challenges posed by climate change to people and the planet.

The Prize is not intended as a ‘lifetime achievement’ award, nor is it intended to be seed funding.

The Jury will assess nominations and identify the 2026 Prize winner based on the following criteria:

1. Achievements & Track Record: Evidence of achievements and measurable results that demonstrate credibility, maturity, and effectiveness of the nominee’s work in addressing climate change and benefiting people and planet.
2. Leadership & Inspiration: Demonstrated leadership that inspires and mobilises others, showing vision, integrity, and perseverance in advancing transformative climate action.
3. Transformative Impact Potential: Demonstrated potential for transformative impact, and high likelihood/need for the Prize to enable them to catalyse systemic change, inspire replication, and accelerate large-scale benefits for people and the planet.
4. Relevance & Timeliness: Relevance to the most pressing challenges posed by climate change to people and the planet, and timeliness in addressing urgent or emerging opportunities for systemic progress.

Since the Prize was launched in 2020, the Jury has recognised a variety of winners, reflecting the breadth and depth of the impact of climate change and different approaches to ensuring a more sustainable, fairer future for people and the planet.

Any individual, organisation, or group of individuals/organisations making a significant contribution to tackling climate change for the benefit of people and the planet is eligible for the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. Nominations must come from a third party.

To support fairness and avoid conflicts of interest, you cannot submit a nomination for any of the following:

• Yourself.
• A close family member (relative), or any organisation that employs a close family member.
• Your own organisation, including your employer, related departments, subsidiaries or sub-entities.
• An individual who works for your organisation.
• An organisation that you serve as a Board Member or advisor, or are part of its decision-making body.
• An organisation with which you have a commercial or financial relationship with. Exception: this rule does not apply if your relationship is solely as a charitable or philanthropic funder.
• An organisation with which you have directly collaborated with in the last two years. Exception: this rule does not apply if your relationship is solely as a charitable or philanthropic funder.

Yes, as long the nominees have made convergent contributions to a specific achievement, either through formal collaboration (with nominees belonging to one or more groups) or parallel work. The short nomination form allows people to easily submit group nominations.

No.

No.

No, self-nominations are not permitted and will be excluded. Applications should be submitted by third parties.

A nominator shall not submit a nomination for any of the following:

• Themselves. Nominations must come from a third party. A close family member (relative), or any organisation employing a close family member.
• The nominator’s own organisation, including their employer, any related departments, subsidiaries or affiliated entities.
• Any individual who is employed by the nominator’s organisation.
• Any organisation in which the nominator serves as a Board Member, advisor, or member of a decision-making body.
• Any organisation with which the nominator maintains a commercial or financial relationship*
• Any organisation with which the nominator has directly collaborated during the previous two years*

*Exception: this does not apply in cases where the nominator is a philanthropic funder which supported the nomination in question.

Yes, there is no limit. You can nominate more than one candidate for the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.

Yes, however, the number of times a candidate is nominated is not assessed by the Jury.

Yes, nominations from all over the world are encouraged.

Nominations close on 30 January 2026, 17:00 GMT. The nomination form will not be accessible after this date and we cannot accept nominations in any other format.

All nominations should be submitted via the online form available on our website.

There are three categories of nomination forms: Individuals; Organisations; and Groups (individuals and/or organisations).

The nomination form includes multiple-choice questions and open-text fields to identify the nominee and the nominator, describe the nominee’s main merits and impact, and optionally add supporting materials or relevant links.

The Prize team may request further information in addition to the information submitted in the application page.

The form must be submitted in English.

Yes. However, please note that the five open text questions have been updated in this 2026 edition,. Please also make sure that all contact details are up to date.

No, unfortunately the online form does not have this option. However, you can download a copy of the questions to help you prepare your nomination offline, and insert the information in the form at a later date. You can find copies here for the three categories of nominations: Individual; Organisation; Group.

Yes, you can do this in the ‘Supporting Information’ section at the end of the online form. Please note that hyperlinks cannot be included anywhere in the online form.

Nomination forms are reviewed by the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity team, the external independent Jury and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Board of Trustees
All personal data of the Data Subjects provided by the nominators will be processed exclusively for the purpose of managing the attribution of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, as the entity responsible for processing the data.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation may be contacted regarding any issues related to the processing of data carried out in this context and for these purposes in our contact form.

The personal data of the Data Subjects will be retained for the period of time necessary for the attribution and management of this Prize, except where a different retention period is required by the applicable legislation.

Some data - namely, the name of the person responsible for the application, date of application, personal data that may be included in submitted works and publications, as well as the data collected during the award ceremony - will be retained indefinitely by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for archiving purposes, within the scope of its activity of management and conservation of its cultural, intellectual and artistic collection.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation guarantees Data Subjects the exercise of their rights regarding their personal data, such as the right of access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction of processing and portability, in accordance with the applicable legislation.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation implements all necessary and adequate security measures to protect the personal data of Data Subjects, whether the data is processed directly by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, or by entities subcontracted by it.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation may process the personal data collected in this context directly and /or through subcontracted entities (Processors), with appropriate contracts in place, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in applicable legislation.

Within the scope and for the purposes of the attribution of this Prize, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation may share candidates’ data with partner entities, for the purposes of managing publications and institutional communications. These entities may be located within the European Union or outside of it, and in the latter case, appropriate safeguards will be applied at all times, in accordance with applicable legislation, to ensure the security of the personal data processed.

Candidates may lodge a complaint with the Portuguese Data Protection Authority (“CNPD”) if they consider that the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has violated legal provisions regarding data protection.

The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, granted yearly, is worth 1 million euros. In the event of more than one winner, the Prize will be split equally between them.

Yes. The Foundation welcomes nominations of groups (of individuals and/or organisations), and occasionally the Jury will recommend merging nominations. In the event of more than one winner, the Prize will be split equally between them.

The Prize money should be used to help winners sustain and scale their vital work. Upon accepting the Prize, the winner/s sign a protocol with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation agreeing on the allocation of funds, and communication and evaluation of activities related to the Prize.

The winner will be announced later in 2026 and broadcast via a ceremony at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.

Appeals cannot be made against the decision taken by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity is a flagship initiative of the Foundation and reflects its commitment to put sustainability and equity at the heart of everything it does.

The Foundation’s mission for the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity is to help accelerate transformative approaches to climate action that benefit people and the planet. The Prize does so by recognising extraordinary leadership and proven achievements with one of the largest prize funds in sustainable development, a €1 million annual award – providing resources to help sustain and scale winners’ vital work – and by showcasing exemplary approaches that address critical issues of today to encourage wider learning, collaboration and adoption across the global climate community.

The Foundation has awarded €6 million since launching the Prize in 2020 to individuals, organisations and groups across the globe.

Beyond the Prize, the Foundation works internationally on environmental sustainability and the inequalities through grant-making programmes, sustainable investments, a broad cultural programme and other projects in the fields of art, science, education, and charity.