Full Breakdown
UN SDG Action Awards Celebrate Grassroots Efforts in Guatemala, India, and Mali
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Core Event: Awards Recognize Community-Led Change
The ninth Heroes of Tomorrow ceremony in Rome honored three initiatives with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Awards. The Women’s Justice Initiative received the Resilience Award for supporting Maya Kaqchikel women and girls in Guatemala. Mothers of Courage earned the Creativity Award for a campaign that keeps girls in school and prevents early marriage in rural India. Rokiatou Traoré’s enterprise was granted the Changemaker Award for restoring farmland and planting trees in Mali.
02
Background & Context: UN Campaign and Selection Process
The awards are administered by the UN SDG Action Campaign, a special UN Secretary-General initiative that promotes the 17 SDG targets. A 20-member jury drawn from UN leadership, governments, civil society, the arts, business, and youth activism evaluated more than 7,000 entries submitted by participants from 190 countries. The panel selected nine finalists across three categories—resilience, creativity, and changemaker—before naming the three winners.
03
Data & Statistics: Participation and Reach
- The Women’s Justice Initiative reports that more than 16,000 women and girls have taken part in its legal-aid programs.
- Mothers of Courage states that over 1.2 million people have joined its pledge to keep daughters in school and curb early marriage.
- The awards attracted 7,000+ entries from 190 nations, reflecting a broad global response to grassroots development efforts.
04
Verbatim Quotes
- “I accept the UN SDG Action Award in the honour of the Maya Kaqchikel women and girls in Guatemala who are building a more just future for their communities. Ending violence against women requires all of us. Only together, we can build a future where every woman and girl lives with dignity and realizes her full potential,” — Viviana Patal, the initiative's legal director
- “This award today belongs to all the mothers in those villages, all the women leaders, who are working hard to change the destinies of their daughters and their daughters-in-law,” — Khushboo Awasthi, Mothers of Courage's chief curator
- “Receiving this award means a lot to me. It is a reminder of why I started this journey,” — Rokiatou Traore
These recognitions underscore how locally driven projects can advance gender equality, education, and sustainable livelihoods while aligning with the UN’s broader SDG agenda.