LAHORE: A Pakistani organization – HIVE, has won the Nelson Mandela-Graça Machel Innovation Award for their social impact campaign which used a life-size hologram of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to advocate for an equal and inclusive Pakistan.
HIVE is the only Pakistani organization that has won the award for its innovative campaigning against extremism. Named after human rights icon Nelson Mandela and former First Lady of South Africa and Mozambique, Graça Machel, the awards are led by the global civil society alliance, CIVICUS and seek to celebrate, promote, and defend a worldwide community of informed and inspired citizens engaged in confronting the challenges facing humanity. The 2021 Innovation Awards recognize groups that stand out for their innovative work building people power in support of human rights and social justice for everyone. Through a public open call, submissions were accepted and the winners were selected from a pool of inspiring applicants from over 70 countries. An external committee of civil society leaders and activists with thematic expertise reviewed and selected seven winners. Each winner will receive US$5,000 in recognition of their work in promoting people’s power, human rights, and social justice. The winner in the category of “creating positive narratives for people power” was HIVE Pakistan. HIVE Pakistan is a social impact organization based in Islamabad working to address issues of extremism and marginalization through innovative campaigning, youth-focused mentorship and upstream mobilisation.