The recipients of the 2024 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity are, Sister Nelly León Correa, a Chilean nun working with prisoners; Sir Magdi Yacoub, an Egyptian cardiothoracic surgeon; and, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, two leading Indonesian Islamic organizations.
The winners of the fifth edition of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, which recognizes contributions of individuals and organizations to humanity’s progress and peaceful coexistence, were announced in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Friday, February 2, 2024, during a press conference by the award’s Secretary-General, Egyptian judge Mohamed Abdelsalam.
This award celebrates the Document on Human Fraternity, signed on February 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
The three winners, who will each receive a prize of one million dollars to enhance their activities, were selected by an independent panel of judges for their exceptional efforts to address complex social challenges and promoting peaceful coexistence and solidarity among humanity at both the international and grassroots levels.
They are set to receive the award on February 5, 2024, during a ceremony at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi.
“Mother of detainees”
Sister Nelly León Correa, known as “Mother Nelly”, is president and co-founder of the “Mujer Levántate” Foundation, and has spent more than 25 years assisting detained women by offering them support and training during their detention period, and also helping them reintegrate into society once released from prison.
Committed to the principles of human fraternity, the foundation, per the award’s rationale, “brings hope to those in prison and healing to those who have just been released.”
According to reports, nearly 94% of the program’s participants remain free of convictions two years after leaving prison.
For Mother Nelly, the situation of detained women is “a horrendous drama that society has failed to see or does not want to see,” and for this, she is grateful that the Zayed Award offers visibility to women who are deprived of freedom.
She hopes that this award will encourage “citizens, politicians, and opinion leaders to feel responsible and committed to contributing to the reintegration of women, to their dignity, their dreams, hopes, and challenges, working together with the State of Chile.”
The Mujer Levántate Foundation assists an average of 250 women a year through its various programs, directly impacting the living conditions of 700 children.
“This award will allow us to double and even triple this number, and this makes us enormously happy,” the sister stated emotionally.
