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2016 Ockenden International Prizes for Refugee Projects Open for Entries.
Ockenden International has launched its fourth annual prize for projects and programs that excel in developing independence for refugees and internally displaced people anywhere.
The Prize, which began in 2013, is $100,000 with two other finalists each receiving $25,000 each.
The cash prizes recognize and reward innovative work that delivers evidential self-reliance to refugees and/or internally displaced people (IDPs), the hallmark of Ockenden International since its inception more than 60 years ago.
The UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, says the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide is more than 50 million worldwide – 16.7 million refugees and 33.3 million IDPs.
Submissions for the $100,000 International Prize must be from organisations operating internationally, registered as charities, which can also elect to nominate a project by a registered partner or affiliate organisation. There are no geographical limits on the locations of submitted projects but the judges will be looking for work initiated no earlier than May 2012 and for evidence of properly-measured and evaluated outcomes.
Deadline for entries is midnight (GMT) on Friday 31 July, with the three finalists to be announced in November.
The finalists – including at least one person in each team having direct contact with the project beneficiaries – will come to the UK to make final presentations to a specialist panel of five judges on either Tuesday 23 February or Tuesday 1 March 2016 at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, where the 2016 presentation and prize-giving ceremony will immediately take place.
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.
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 programs itself.
The 2015 Ockenden International Prize was awarded to The Community Association for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (ACPDH) and Disability and Development Partners (DDP) UK for the DDP-nominated project: “Twunganire Abahungutse (TA) - Everyone Supports Returnees” operating in two provinces of Burundi.
The two 2015 runners-up were ZOA – Relief Hope Recovery, a Netherlands-based refugee charity for its project “Revitalising Livelihood Opportunities along Two Economic Arteries in Sri Lanka’s Former War Zone” and The Border Consortium (Thailand and Myanmar), for its “Preparedness for Return” programme, preparing refugees with the skills necessary for self-reliance on their return to Myanmar from nine camps on the Thai side of their border.
The prizes were presented by the Most Reverend & Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, on Tuesday evening 24 February.
More information about The Prizes, eligibility criteria and the Online Entry Form are available on Ockenden International’s website at http://www.ockendenprizes.org and https://www.facebook.com/OckendenPrizes
Media contact: enquiries@ockendenprizes.org
