People of the WorldThe Honorees

The People of the World Honorees · from 2027

Honouring the best of humanity.

Every day, the world's attention goes to the worst of us. Each year, the People of the World Honorees will turn it toward the best: five people whose lives show what humanity can be, in discovery, in service to the poor, in peacemaking, in moral courage, and in the arts.

Serve on the panelBecome a partner

Why honour the good

What a society pays attention to, it grows more of. The quiet people who hold communities together are rarely seen. The Honorees may be famous, or known only to their neighbours. What they share is that they have made the world better, and that others can learn from how they did it.

The five honours

One Honoree each year in each area. The areas are deliberately broad: what matters is the life, not the title.

Honoree forScience and DiscoveryPeople who ask how the world really works, seek mechanism rather than mere description, and put knowledge to the service of humanity.
Honoree forEconomics and Service to the PoorPeople who lift others out of poverty, whether by building better systems or by serving the hungry, the homeless and the forgotten with their own hands.
Honoree forPeace and UnityPeople who bring others together across the lines that divide them: nation, faith, race, class and party.
Honoree forFaith and Moral CouragePeople who do what is right when it costs them, and live their deepest convictions in the service of others, within any faith or none.
Honoree forMusic and the ArtsPeople who use music and the arts to heal, teach, inspire and connect, and open the arts to those who were shut out of them.

What Honorees receive

Not a cash prize, but something rarer for people who give their lives to others: rest, and a voice that lasts.

Time to restA two-week stay with one of our Host Partners, places of beauty and peace, with travel provided by our Travel Partners.
Their legacy, in their own wordsA recorded interview and a piece they write themselves: the lessons they would leave. Kept permanently in a public library of the best examples of humanity.
A place in the annual bookEach year's Honorees are published together in a book placed in libraries around the world.
Light on their workA profile in A Deeper Look, our weekly journal, and support raised in their name directed to the cause they serve.

The year ahead

The first Honorees are announced on 17 October 2027.

  1. January to February
    The call goes outNomination Readers and Category Judges are invited from around the world.
  2. March
    The panel is announcedThe judges for each honour are named publicly.
  3. April to June
    Nominations openAnyone may nominate someone whose life deserves to be honoured.
  4. July to August
    Readers shortlistReaders check the facts of every nomination and recommend a shortlist in each area.
  5. September
    Judges chooseThree judges in each area choose that year's Honoree.
  6. 17 October
    Honorees announcedOn the United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Take part

An honour is only as meaningful as the people who make it possible.

Serve on the panelHelp choose the Honorees as a Nomination Reader or a Category Judge. Answer the call
Become a partnerHost an Honoree, provide travel, or sponsor one of the five honours. Partner with us
Support the honoursHelp bring an Honoree to rest, record a legacy, or place the book in a library. Ways to give
Nominate someoneNominations open in April 2027. Sign up below and we will tell you when they do. Tell me when

Questions

Who is behind the honours?

People of the World is a global movement founded by author and composer Shareef Ali Rashada, working toward a world at peace and free of poverty. It operates as a business name of POW Productions Pty Ltd. Its work includes the Plan to End Poverty, EasyKey Music, and a free library of books and teachings.

Is this a religious organisation?

People of the World stands openly on a spiritual foundation, the New Morality: every person carries within them a literal fragment of the Creator, and our guiding ideal is to treat others, and to act in every situation, as the God in us would treat the God in them. We belong to no church or denomination, and we ask no one to share our beliefs before taking part. The honours are open to people of every faith and of none, and the panel is drawn from all traditions.

Is it political?

No. People of the World endorses no party or candidate, in any country, and the honours are never used to endorse anyone politically.

How are Honorees chosen?

Anyone may nominate. Nomination Readers check the facts and shortlist, and three independent Category Judges choose each Honoree. Readers and judges agree to a code of impartiality, declare conflicts of interest and keep deliberations confidential. Partners and sponsors have no part in choosing Honorees.

More answers for partners and supporters on the partners page.

Follow the Honorees.

An email when the panel is announced, when nominations open, and when the Honorees are named. Nothing else unless you ask.

We'll only send what you signed up for. Privacy