Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Today, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ILGA World honoured five outstanding ‘Equality Champions’ with the International Pride Awards, during a special ceremony at the WorldPride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam. The 2026 International Pride Awards celebrate individuals and organizations whose courage, leadership and commitment are advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people around the world.

The awardees are South African deputy minister Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, the human rights organization COC Nederland, long-standing activist Marcela Dimonty from Chile, Ugandan trans pastor Aggie Dennett Harmon, and the disability rights advocate and LGBTIQ+ ally Dr Satendra Singh from India.

Selected by an Awards Committee of experienced LGBTIQ+ campaigners, advocates and human rights leaders following nominations from across the globe, this year's recipients demonstrate the many ways people are building progress – from strengthening grassroots movements and transforming healthcare to preserving community history and expanding political representation.

Eligible award recipients from low- and middle-income countries will each receive a US$10,000 grant to support their ongoing work and impact.

"At a time when LGBTIQ+ people are confronting renewed hostility and shrinking civic space, the courage of these recipients is a powerful reminder that progress is built by people and movements who refuse to accept exclusion and inequality," said Mandeep Dhaliwal, Director of the Prosperity and Wellbeing Hub at UNDP. "Their leadership is changing institutions, strengthening communities and expanding the freedom to live with dignity. UNDP is proud to help bring their work to a global audience."

"These recipients show us how people advance equality for everyone: by organizing, caring, documenting, teaching and opening doors for others," said Julia Ehrt, Executive Director of ILGA World. "Their work spans different countries and generations, but it is united by a belief in a future where everyone can thrive free from fear and prejudice. The International Pride Awards honour their achievements and the many communities standing alongside them."

THE 2026 INTERNATIONAL PRIDE AWARDS RECIPIENTS:

MOVEMENT BUILDING IN THE FACE OF HOSTILITY: COC Nederland (the Netherlands)

COC Nederland, founded in 1946, is the oldest existing LGBTIQ+ rights organization in the world. COC strengthens grassroots LGBTIQ+ movements confronting criminalization, violence, discrimination and shrinking civic space. Working with more than 200 organizations in over 35 countries, it supports leadership development, organizational capacity, fundraising and international advocacy, while amplifying local voices in international human rights forums. Its work helps build more connected, inclusive and resilient equality movements, including organizations serving lesbian, bisexual and queer women, as well as trans and intersex people.

Watch COC Nederland’s video

CELEBRATING DIVERSE LIVES: Aggie Dennett Harmon (Uganda)

A Ugandan trans pastor, advocate and community leader, Aggie Dennett Harmon supports LGBTIQ+ people – particularly trans women – facing violence, displacement and exclusion. She co-founded Talented Youth Community Fellowship Uganda, a trans women-led organization offering psychosocial support, trauma-informed care, peer networks and empowerment programmes. She also founded the Nange Healing and Harm Reduction Center, a safe and affirming space for trans people and people who use drugs. Through her ministry, advocacy, storytelling and books, she promotes healing and belonging while helping reconcile faith and queerness.

Watch Aggie Dennett Harmon’s video

EMERGING LEADER: Mmapaseka Steve Letsike (South Africa)

Steve Letsike is an emerging South African political leader whose public service is grounded in decades of human rights activist and social justice advocacy. After years of working through civil society to advance LGBTIQ+ equality, public health and intersectional justice, she entered Parliament in 2024 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. In this role, she is bringing grassroots experience into government to address discrimination, violence, unequal access to public health services and the underrepresentation of LGBTIQ+ people in political life. Her rise in national politics is expanding LGBTIQ+ representation and demonstrating how movement leadership can shape policy and institutional change.

Watch Mmapaseka Steve Letsike’s video

LIFELONG PURSUIT OF EQUALITY: Marcela Dimonty (Chile)

Marcela Dimonty is a Chilean trans activist whose life and advocacy connect the repression experienced by LGBTIQ+ people during Chile's military dictatorship with the exclusion still faced by older trans people. After taking part in the country's first LGBT protest in 1973 and surviving detention and torture by state forces, she turned those experiences into decades of testimony, artistic expression and human rights advocacy. Her work has strengthened calls for memory, truth and reparation while inspiring new generations of activists.

Watch Marcela Dimonty’s video

EXTRAORDINARY ALLY: Dr Satendra Singh (India)

Dr Satendra Singh is an Indian disability rights advocate, medical educator and ally challenging the pathologization of intersex and other LGBTQ+ people in healthcare and medical education. His advocacy contributed to a 2020 recommendation by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights to ban medically unnecessary intersex surgeries. He has also developed an Inclusive Language Audit Tool, advanced trans-affirmative medical competencies and supported India's first student-led medical-school club focused on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.

Watch Dr Satendra Singh’s video

The 2026 International Pride Awards ceremony and broadcast were supported by Deutsche Bank and OUTtv. Deutsche Bank's support helped organizers deliver a vibrant and meaningful ceremony, while OUTtv extended the awards' reach through its television channels and global network, helping bring the recipients' stories to LGBTIQ+ communities and allies worldwide.

Watch the recording of the 2026 International Pride Awards ceremony on YouTube and learn more about this year’s awardees at internationalprideawards.org.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

About the International Pride Awards

The International Pride Awards is a joint project by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ILGA World. First established in 2024, the awards shine a light on stories of resilience, solidarity and progress. The global initiative provides a platform to recognize and uplift those whose leadership strengthens movements, promotes dignity and expands opportunity – reinforcing the fundamental principle that no one should be left behind.

About ILGA World

ILGA World – the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – is a worldwide federation of more than 2,300 organizations from over 170 countries and territories ensuring that people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics can exercise their human rights

About UNDP

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP.

Media contacts

Daniele Paletta, Communications Manager, ILGA World, media@ilga.org

Richa Ranjitkar, Communications Specialist, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, richa.ranjitkar@undp.org