Yerevan /Mediamax/. The nomination of candidates for Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity established by Ruben Vardanyan, Noubar Afeyan and Vartan Gregorian has started.

Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is one of the elements of 100 Lives Initiative. The initiative was officially launched in New York in March. You can read about it in the special report of Mediamax.

Ruben Vardanyan and Enough Project Founding Director John Prendergast have published “A Public Challenge: Find Humanity in the Inhumane” article on The Huffington Post.

“To honor and thank those who do act in the face of unnatural danger, and as a public challenge to identify and share such stories of humanity that is awake, aware and accountable, in March, we launched the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. This new global award will be given annually to an individual or group who has faced extreme adversity, yet persevered because others’ lives were in peril,” noted the authors.

The winner will be honored with a USD 100,000 award, as well as a USD 1,000,000 grant to a charitable organization that inspired their work.

“This is consistent with the spirit of the Aurora Prize and encourages the cycle of giving. Thus this prize is about both past and future – honoring individual instances of outstanding sacrifice and action while supporting ongoing dedication by nurturing communities of humanitarians. The Prize becomes a pathway to fund future acts of determination, courage and compassionate humanity,” reads the article.

First Aurora Prize will be awarded in Yerevan in April 2016. The prize will be awarded by famous American actor George Clooney who is a jury co-chair.

Everyone is welcome to nominate candidates for Aurora Prize by pressing “Nominate” on the website of 100 Lives initiative.