EBDA & SEKEM win the 2024 Prize
Sekem and EBDA, the Egyptian Biodynamic Association, both pioneering organizations of regenerative biodynamic agriculture, have been honoured with the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The announcement came from a distinguished Jury, chaired by Dr. Angela Merkel, former German chancellor, and president of the Jury, which selected the SEKEM initiative and EBDA from a pool of 181 nominees representing 117 nationalities.
© SEKEM & EBDA
Justus Harm, Co-executive Director at EBDA and Economy of Love, Naglaa Ahmed, Project Manager and Consultant at EBDA, and Helmy Abouleish, CEO of SEKEM Group were awarded by Angela Merkel, on behalf of the jury, during the award ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.
This prestigious award recognizes SEKEM and EBDA’s significant contributions to global food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem protection. Both have been active in promoting biodynamic agriculture practices for almost five decades. They share the award with Dr. Rattan Lal, a globally renowned soil scientist, and the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) program, which supports nearly 1 million smallholder farmers in India and beyond.
SEKEM and EBDA are focused on scaling up the biodynamic farming approach promoting a holistic transformation of farming communities. With the Economy of Love standard they are enabling farmers to transition towards ethical and sustainaible farming practices on the basis of biodynamic farming principles while supporting community development.
This Gulbenkian Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to climate action and solutions that inspire hope. Since it was launched in 2020 the Jury has recognised different approaches to climate change including youth mobilisation, coalition building, developing localised solutions, and scientific research. Great Thunberg was the first winner followed later by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Congratulations to the winners! Find out more on the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.
