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Submissions invited for the 2015 Ockenden Prizes for projects helping refugees and displaced people
Ockenden International has launched its third annual call for entries and announced an increase in prize money of $25,000 to $100,000 for its International Prize with Prizes of $25,000 for two runners-up.
The cash prizes recognize and reward innovative work that delivers evidential self-reliance to refugees and/or internally displaced people (IDPs). The Ockenden Prizes honour projects that foster and successfully instill self-reliance, the hallmark of Ockenden International since its inception more than 60 years ago.
Submissions for the $100,000 International Prize must be from organizations operating internationally, registered as charities, which can also elect to nominate a project by a registered partner or affiliate organization. There are no geographical limits on the locations of submitted projects but the judges will be looking for work initiated no earlier than May 2011 and for evidence of properly-measured and evaluated outcomes.
Deadline for entries this year is midnight (GMT) on Thursday, July 31, with the three finalists to be announced in November.
The finalists will come to the UK to make final presentations to a specialist panel of five judges on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, where the 2015 presentation ceremony takes place that evening. The winner will be presented with the $100,000 prize with the other two finalists receiving $25,000 each – to cover the cost of travel and accommodation, especially for the project field-workers who are expected to attend.
Objectives of the Prizes include highlighting the challenges faced by displaced people, raising awareness of their range of needs, and providing reward and recognition for those giving outstanding support.
More information about The Prizes, eligibility criteria and the Online Entry Form are available on Ockenden International’s website www.ockendenprizes.org and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ockenden-International-Prizes/320672714728739?ref=tn_tnmn
Additional forms of support and recognition for worthy projects identified by the judges will also be considered. These underscore Ockenden’s focus on reinforcing the work of others helping refugees and the displaced, rather than directly running programmes itself.
The 2014 International Prize was presented by HRH The Princess Royal on February 18 to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Zimbabwe for a land rights project in Manicaland and Masvingo Provinces that has resettled 10,000 IDPs.
The two other 2014 finalists were the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), India, for its ‘Protection and Livelihood Assistance to Sri Lankan refugees’ project, working across 54 camps in 18 districts of Tamil Nadu, India and ActionAid India for the project “Humanitarian support for internally displaced tribal communities in Khammam District”, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Contact for queries: enquiries@ockendenprizes.org
