UN Awards 2025 Mandela Prize To Brenda Reynolds And Kennedy Odede
Secretary-General António Guterres will present the award to Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede on 18 July, Nelson Mandela International Day.
Established in 2014, the prize is awarded every five years to two individuals whose work reflects the late South African President's legacy of leadership, humility, service, and unity across borders.
'This year's Mandela prize winners embody the spirit of unity and possibility – reminding us how we all have the power to shape stronger communities and a better world,' said Mr. Guterres.
Brenda Reynolds
A Status Treaty member of the Fishing Lake Saulteaux First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, Brenda Reynolds has spent decades advancing Indigenous rights, mental health, and trauma-informed care.
In 1988, she supported 17 teenage girls in the first residential school sexual abuse case in Saskatchewan. Later, she became a special adviser to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), helping shape survivor support and trauma responses.
She is most recognised for her key role in Canada's court-ordered Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and her subsequent development of the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program—a national initiative offering culturally grounded mental health care for survivors and families.
In 2023, she was invited by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to share her expertise on trauma and cultural genocide.
Kennedy Odede
Living in Kenya's Kibera Slum for 23 years, Kennedy Odede went from living on the street at 10 years old to global recognition when he was named one of TIME magazine's 2024 100 Most Influential People.
His journey began with a small act: saving his meagre factory earnings to buy a soccer ball and bring his community together. That spark grew into Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a grassroots movement he now leads as CEO. SHOFCO operates in 68 locations across Kenya, empowering local groups and delivering vital services to over 2.4 million people every year.
Mr. Odede is also a New York Times bestselling co-author and holds roles with USAID, the World Economic Forum, the Obama Foundation, and the Clinton Global Initiative.
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RNZ News
10 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'Karanga is yours': Kuia empower the next generation of wāhine Māori to step forward
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Facilitator and resepcted Tuahiwi māreikura Heeni Te Whakaako Kereru (Whaea Liz) said the kaupapa is about igniting the inner flame. "It's important that we do what we do. We've only got these five, who are sitting here left in Ōtautahi, that have walked the walk and now talk the talk." Surrounded by the strength of their tīpuna, Kereru spoke of the urgency felt throughout the day. "I cry because all of our tīpuna are here. It's full. "There's been a sense of urgency from them, about us losing our identity, who we are as wāhine, who we are as Māori, as Indigenous people." Looking across the rōpū of wāhine gathered at Rehua, she reminded them this was only the beginning. "And the turmoil we are in... it will be us who will nurture the world, actually. And bring peace back." Rānui Ngārimu (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga) leads a karanga during the pōwhiri at Rehua Marae for Tīhei Waitaha. Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ One of the country's most renowned kaiwhatu, Rānui Ngārimu, who wove the Olympic team's kākahu , was the first kaikōrero at Tīhei Waitaha. She shared moments from her own haerenga, or journey, with karanga, paying tribute to the wāhine who helped shape her understanding. "[My aunty] would say te reo Māori is our language from the heavens. It is our language from our gods, and nobody on earth can change that." "In today's political environment, I bless you Aunty Marge, you've given us something to hold on to." Her first experience with karanga came without warning, and without preparation. She recalled calling out haere mai again and again, eventually weaving in a childhood waiata to fill the space. "I was whakamā. But I was reminded that all that mattered was making our people feel welcome." Ngā māreikura: Rānui Ngārimu, Te Herehere Tukaki, Heeni Te Whakaako Kereru (Liz), Alamein Connell, Tihi Puanaki, Roberta Arahanga. Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ "Karanga is a ritual of engagement between two groups of people that requires the ability to communicate not only messages, but also emotion." She described karanga as a spiritual bridge, a way of drawing manuhiri in safely and a practice that transforms any space into a marae once it begins. She also spoke of its power. In 2013, Ngārimu attended the unveiling of Pou Whenua on Scott Base in Antartica alongside the then-Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon, and then-Prime Minister John Key. A formal pōwhiri was planned, but heavy snow casted doubt over whether it would go ahead. "They were saying 'we might have to cancel', and I said, 'No, it'll clear'." As she stepped forward and began her karanga, snow still falling, she felt the shift. "I opened my mouth, got a mouthful of snow, and just kept going," she laughed. "And then... it stopped. Total stillness. "The Americans called it luck. But I knew. I've seen it happen before. 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Preparation starts young, she said, whether it is picking up rubbish or placing a clean cup on the table - always with aroha. "Everything we did then, we had to do with aroha, so that our manuhiri would feel welcome, so they would feel the aroha of our marae, and of our people." She shared that moving as a collective during the pōhiri, with kuia at the front, tāne at the back and tamariki protected in the middle, is about keeping one another safe. "The kuia who are there to call for you, their backs need to be protected too." She said that karanga, too, is deeply connected to this spirit of preparation and aroha. "Sometimes when I stand there outside, I don't karanga to the manuhiri in front of me. I'm calling down to Tangaroa so he can hear me. I'm calling ki ngā maunga so they can hear me." "Karanga kia puta mai te aroha ki roto i a tātou nei mahi katoa," she said, meaning, let the call (karanga) bring love (aroha) into all our work (mahi katoa). 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Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ A beloved figure across Aotearoa, Tihi Puanaki is known for her work in Māori education and her leadership of the award-winning haka rōpū Te Kotahitanga. At Tīhei Waitaha, she reminded wāhine of the sacredness of the kaupapa: "Wāhine mā, tai tamariki mā, kua huihui tātou i raro i te karanga o te kaupapa nei... He kaupapa tino tapu, he kaupapa tino nui. Horekau he mutunga. "No matter where you come from or what iwi you descend from, karanga is yours to uphold." She acknowledged the pressure that comes with the role as kaikaranga, and the humility. "Karanga is not just a performance. You're acknowledging the maunga, the iwi, the hau kāinga. There's real pressure in that. "You've got to look after your voice, and your wairua too." Puanaki also spoke candidly about protecting tikanga. "Karanga is not a course you complete. You don't get a certificate and become a kaikāranga overnight. You carry that responsibility for life. "Don't just bring new people onto the pae without letting the rest of us know... We overlook mana whenua sometimes, and we shouldn't. "There are some things we have to protect. Karanga is not for everybody." "Kaua koe ki tō hoa Pākehā, kāre. I say it with aroha... but this is for my people. "You might not be a kaikaranga for Rehua or Tuahiwi. But you might be a kaikaranga for your little job, your whā that's important too." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Confident To Continue Our Fight
How often do Indigenous Peoples find spaces where they can share their suffering, feel safe, and freely learn and build hope? Naw Paw Pree, Indigenous Karen from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), joined the International Festival for People's Rights and Struggles (IFPRS) with IPMSDL as one of the co-organizers, and felt the comfort of being with fellow brother and sisters in struggle for self-determination. 'The 'People Power Hour' organised during IFPRS was a global platform where Indigenous Peoples and other marginalised groups were able to make their voices heard at a global scale,' she shared. In an event organized for Indigenous activists from Karen, Manipur and CHT in Bangladesh, Naw Paw Pree expressed how different victims of oppression around the world gathered to learn and share their experiences, suffering and struggles for their rights to land, culture, tradition, freedom, and self-determination. 'It was a safe space for all people to enjoy freedom of expression, share their feelings, and demand for change,' Paw Pree said. For her, she learned the similarity between different Indigenous Peoples from around the world: having diverse cultures, traditions, beliefs and social practices, but the same struggles and oppression. She also felt a deep honour for community members from the indigenous Karen peoples of Southeast Burma to attend the event to learn about the struggles of other Indigenous Peoples and minority communities, and to share the struggles of the Karen peoples. It was a very touching moment for her as she presents and the participants listened to her peoples' pain and understood about the Karen people's struggle to fulfill their basic human rights, to defend their people and land, and for self-determination. According to her, 'their sympathetic response and respectful reflections show the international understanding of our struggles, so it made Karen people feel dignified and it honoured the 75 years of revolutionary struggles.' 'The People Power Hour event made us feel confident to continue our fight, without feeling the burden of other international views that often accuse us of being rebels, terrorists, and dangerous people,' she said with a firm and enlightened smile. 'We need more international solidarity to support the voices of indigenous and minority people and to stand firmly with us,' she added. Below is her presentation and sharing: The struggle of the Karen people from Kathoolei, Burma Locally-defined Karen State, in Southeast Burma (Myanmar), has been affected by ceaseless armed conflict and human rights abuses since Burma's independence in 1948. Since then, the Karen peoples have been targeted by the Burma Army, which has persecuted and oppressed other ethnic minorities around the country, seeking to impose their rule and spurring conflict with ethnic armed groups. As early as the 1960s, the Burma Army was already targeting villagers as part of their 'four cuts' strategy, to destroy the links of ethnic armed groups with food, funds, recruits and intelligence. Teaching ethnic languages and cultures was also prohibited and customary rules, such as those of land ownership, were violated. Although the conflict diminished after the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, with some economic and human rights improvements, many Karen villagers perceived this as a means of 'Burmanisation' and still faced abuses at the hands of the Burma Army. In February 2021, the Burma Army staged a coup d'état against the democratically elected civilian government, and self-proclaimed the State Administration Council (SAC). Civilians around the country opposed the coup with street demonstrations and a civil disobedience movement and were met with violence throughout. In response to such violence, and the re-militarisation in ethnic areas, ethnic armed groups and newly formed armed resistance forces confront the SAC and their affiliated groups. Villagers in Karen State conduct their daily lives in a theatre of war. Throughout this conflict, the Burma Army has frequently directed widespread and systematic shelling and bombing into civilian areas, reinvigorating the 'four cuts'. The systematic targeting of civilians encompasses extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, forced displacements, looting and extortion, sexual violence, and forced labour. Buildings protected under international law, such as schools, clinics, religious buildings and houses, are equally targeted. Due to the intensity of the conflict, and to the level of organisation of the armed actors involved, international humanitarian law (IHL) must be applied. The SAC violations of IHL of non-international armed conflicts, as well as of customary international law, amount to potential war crimes. Furthermore, given the widespread and systematic nature of the SAC attacks committed against civilians, the abuses by the Burma Army may amount to crimes against humanity, punishable under international criminal law. The human rights violations being perpetrated in Burma give rise to an obligation erga omnes binding all States, to prosecute and punish all those responsible and enact universal jurisdiction. Recommendation to international stakeholder: Support coordinated and targeted sanctions on the supply of weapons and aviation fuel to the military junta, on oil and gas revenues, and sanctions against junta officials. Supporting ongoing investigations and trials and seeking additional ways to hold the Burma Army leaders accountable for their many crimes, including those against the Karen. Increasing financial support for local organisations working on the ground to assist the civilian population in need. Do not legitimize the military junta and do not collaborate with them in any way. Take these and other decisive actions to end the military dictatorship in Burma and end SAC's military aggression against civilians, especially in ethnic areas, including by seeking the complete withdrawal of SAC troops from ethnic ancestral territories. Give full recognition and realisation of the self-determination rights of Indigenous Peoples locally, nationally and internationally. #
Scoop
17-07-2025
- Scoop
Indigenous Youth Meet Trailblazers Ahead Of Nelson Mandela Day
17 July 2025 Accompanied by their parents and mentors from the midwestern state of Wisconsin, the group wore handmade ribbon skirts and vests featuring seven coloured bands, each symbolizing a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of personal significance, such as good health and gender equality. Also visiting the UN in New York for the first time that day was Brenda Reynolds, a social worker from Canada and a member of the Fishing Lake First Nation. She was joined by her husband, Robert Buckle, and 12-year-old granddaughter Lillian, and wore one of her own ribbon skirts for the occasion. Ms. Reynolds will be awarded the 2025 United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize on 18 July. The Prize, presented every five years, recognizes two individuals whose life work exemplifies service to humanity. Ms. Reynolds will receive the award alongside Kennedy Odede, a social entrepreneur from Kenya. Agents of change After a UN tour (unanimously enjoyed) and a quick stop for lunch and souvenirs at the UN Bookshop (where one plushie hummingbird was traded for a green turtle named 'Coral'), the group settled into a briefing room. Onstage, Ms. Reynolds was joined by Mirian Masaquiza Jerez, a Kichwa woman from Ecuador and a Social Affairs Officer at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), easily recognized in the UN corridors for always wearing traditional regalia from her Indigenous community of Salasaka, 'Wherever you go to public spaces, wear who you are,' she said. 'The UN is the place to raise your voice. Be free to be who you are.' Encouraging them to speak their languages and honour their cultures, Ms. Masaquiza urged the young students to see themselves as agents of change. 'You didn't come by invitation. You came because you belong,' she said. 'You are the future. You are the present. As Indigenous, we have the space. Use it.' A painful past Ms. Reynolds shared her personal story with the group, reflecting on her early career as a counsellor at Gordon's Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, the last federally funded residential school to close in Canada. She described seeing children as young as five separated from their families for a year at a time and issued shirts with numbers instead of their names written inside: 'The only other time I had seen people identified that way was when Jewish people had numbers tattooed on them.' During her first year at Gordon's in 1988, a young girl confided that she had been abused. By the next morning, 17 would come forward, launching what would become the province's first major residential school abuse case. Ms. Reynolds, then labeled a 'troublemaker,' went on to help shape the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and advise the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Her work has impacted hundreds of thousands of Indigenous People across Canada. The room echoed with laughter, knowing nods and tears, and phrases from Ojibwe and other languages represented by the Indigenous Peoples in the room, including Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Ojibwe, Menomonee, Oneida, Navajo, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Afro-Indigenous communities. Coming full circle The youth came from the Daughters of Tradition and the Sons of Tradition, part of a long-running healing initiative by Milwaukee's Healing Intergenerational Roots (HIR) Wellness Institute, which supports Indigenous communities with no-cost, comprehensive mental healthcare and other services. The founder, Lea S. Denny, wants Indigenous youth to see themselves in positions of power. This particular group has been together for eight years, with some heading off to college in the fall. One father, attending with his three daughters, reflected on raising Indigenous youth in the digital age. 'We want them to access the world out there,' he said, 'but also protect the inside world we want to hold dear.' He said he also offered the advice that 'if you don't see yourself on the screen, sometimes you have to be the first.' The day finished with hugs and exchanges of handmade leis as a symbol of the breath of life and sharing a good life source. They will reunite on 18 July to see Ms. Reynolds accept the Mandela Prize in the General Assembly Hall. Before then, a planned detour to visit Times Square. Meanwhile, Ms. Reynolds and her family discussed their plans for a Broadway show. On the way out, she paused to hug a life-sized bronze statue of Nelson Mandela, a gift from the South African Government to the UN. 'I started my work with children,' she said. 'And today, I spoke to children. This feels full circle for me.'
