People of the WorldThe Honorees

The People of the World Honorees

A call to serve

Help us choose the People of the World Honorees for 2027.

An honour is only as meaningful as the people who decide it. So we are not choosing the Honorees alone. We are inviting people from around the world to help.

Apply to serveWho we are

Who we are

People of the World is a global movement with one aim: a world at peace, where no one lives in poverty.

Every nation on Earth has already promised that aim: the first of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals is to end poverty in all its forms, everywhere, by 2030. What has been missing is not the promise but the means, and the will to act on it together. Our Plan to End Poverty sets out practical tools any community or country can use: Poverty Elimination Centres, Civic Credits that reward service to the community, and LifeLink, built on the rule every person counted, no person tracked.

Behind the plan stands a simple conviction, shared across every faith and tradition: that each person carries within them a sense of what is right, and that a world which listened to it would look very different from the one we have.

Why honour the good

Every day, the world's attention goes to the worst of us. Conflict, scandal and cruelty fill the headlines, and the quiet people who hold communities together go unseen. Each year the Honorees will recognise people whose lives show the best of humanity. Instead of a cash prize, each receives time away to rest and be renewed, and the chance to record their legacy in their own words, kept in a public library and published each year as a book.

  1. Honoree for Science and DiscoveryPeople who ask how the world really works, seek mechanism rather than mere description, and put knowledge to the service of humanity.
  2. Honoree for Economics 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.
  3. Honoree for Peace and UnityPeople who bring others together across the lines that divide them: nation, faith, race, class and party.
  4. Honoree for Faith 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.
  5. Honoree for Music 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.

Your part

Two roles, both voluntary. Choose one, and your email opens with a short application ready to fill in.

A few hours a week, July to August 2027Nomination ReaderRead nominations in one of the five areas, check the facts, and recommend a shortlist. Open to anyone with relevant experience and a fair mind. Apply as a Nomination Reader
About 10 to 15 hours in September 2027Category JudgeThree judges in each area choose that year's Honoree from the shortlist. Judges are named publicly. Chosen from the strongest applicants, alongside people we invite directly. Apply as a Category Judge

Or write directly to shareef@peopleoftheworld.net with your name and country, the area you would like to serve in, a few sentences about your experience, and why you would like to take part. In return, you will be part of the first year of a new tradition, named among the people who helped it begin.

Who we are looking for

People with experience in one of the five areas, whether professional, in the community, or lived. A scientist, a social worker, a peacebuilder, a pastor, an imam, a music teacher and someone who has simply spent years serving others are all welcome. We want readers and judges from every continent, every faith and none, and every part of the political spectrum.

Everyone who serves agrees to a short code

  1. ImpartialityJudge each nominee on the life they have lived, not on who nominated them.
  2. Honesty about conflictsDeclare any personal or professional tie to a nominee, and step aside where one exists.
  3. ConfidentialityKeep deliberations private until the Honorees are announced.
  4. Non-partisanshipPeople of the World endorses no party or candidate, and the honours are never used to do so.
  5. RespectTreat every nominee, and every faith and tradition, with respect.

The year ahead

  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.

Not able to serve? Share this page with someone who should see it, and from April 2027, nominate someone whose life deserves to be honoured. More about the Honorees.

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