ALBA and Puffin Foundation Poised to Announce 2026 Human Rights Award
ALBA Award winners gathered: My Brother’s Keeper, 18byVote, Indigenous Women Rising, and Kate Doyle, with Mark Wallem, Neal Rosenstein, and Sebastiaan Faber. Photo Donald Borenstein
As this issue is going to print, ALBA’s Human Rights Committee is hard at work finalizing the process of selecting this year’s winner of the ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism. Keep an eye on your email and social media for an announcement. Jack Mayerhofer, chair of ALBA’s Human Rights Committee said, “We are pleased to say we have had a record number of applications this year. The committee has been working diligently to give the strongest consideration to all who applied. A decision is expected soon, and we look forward to bestowing this prestigious award on another worthy individual or organization working in human rights activism.”
One of the largest monetary awards for human rights in the world, the ALBA/Puffin Award is a $100,000 cash prize granted annually by ALBA and The Puffin Foundation to sustain the legacy of the experiences, aspirations, and idealism of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It supports contemporary international activists and human rights causes. A philanthropist and visionary, the late Perry Rosenstein of The Puffin Foundation created and established an endowed fund for this award in 2010. Since then, the annual award has been granted 14 times. (See the inset for an overview of award winners.)
The award ceremony will be held in New York City in early May. Those interested in attending may contact the ALBA office at info@alba-valb.org.
ALBA/Puffin Award Winners Since 2011
2011 Baltasar Garzón
2012 Kate Doyle and Fredy Peccerelli
2013 United We Dream
2014 Bryan Stevenson
2015 Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica
2016 Lydia Cacho and Jeremy Scahilll
2017 Proactiva Open Arms
2018 The Coalition of Immokalee Workers
2019 The Immigration Justice Campaign
2020 No More Deaths
2021 My Brother’s Keeper
2022 Life After Hate
2023 Indigenous Women Rising
2024 18By Vote
2025 Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Community
