KIDSRIGHTS ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE PRIZE 2025

Three extraordinary youngsters are in the running for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2025, the most important youth prize in the world : Bana Alabed (aged 15, Syria/Turkey),  Aeshnina (Nina) Azzahra Aqilani (aged 17, Indonesia), Divyansh Agrawal (aged 16, USA).

• In the prize’s 21^st year, these young candidates have been recognized for their groundbreaking commitments to children’s rights, including advocacy for war-affected children, tackling plastic colonialism, and driving climate action.
• This year the award ceremony will be held in Stockholm. The  winner will be announced  in the hometown of the Nobelprize,  at Stockholm’s iconic City Hall, on Wednesday, 19th November 2025. Co-host in 2025 is Global Child Forum, founded by the Swedish Royal family.

The international children’s rights organization, KidsRights, has announced the finalists for its annual International Children’s Peace Prize (ICPP). In its 21^st year, the award highlights the remarkable achievements of young changemakers fighting courageously for children’s rights across the world.

Receiving more than 200 nominations from 47  countries, reflecting the International Children’s Peace Prize’s prestige and the global platform on offer, a shortlist of three incredible finalists has been selected by a panel of experts.

Aeshnina (Nina) Azzahra Aqilani is a 17-year-old from Indonesia and a fierce advocate against “plastic colonialism.” Nina’s activism began at age 12 when she exposed the harmful practice of Western nations exporting plastic waste to Indonesia,  adressing leaders like Trump directly, her advocacy contributed to the European Green Deal’s 2027 ban on these exports, a historic win for global environmental justice.

Bana Alabed is a 15-year-old Syrian native, now residing in Turkey. Bana exemplifies resilience and courage, giving a voice to children trapped in war zones. Having endured the 2016 siege of Aleppo, Bana began her advocacy by sharing her experiences of war through diaries, blogs, and social media, gaining international attention. Bana is actively advocating for missing children in Syria and asks attention for children in conflict zones like Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

Divyansh Agrawal is a 16-year-old from the United States who has mobilized thousands in his fight for climate justice and children’s rights. As the founder of the Junior Philanthropists Foundation, he has helped pass 18 environmental bills in California, directly improving the lives of millions. Divyansh co-drafted the Global Youth Statement at COP29 in 2024, advocating for climate resilience.

The International Children’s Peace Prize, recognized for celebrating young changemakers like former recipients Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. They inspire hundreds of millions of people each year. Last year the message of the young winner reached 3.8 billion people through international media.

Each year the International Children’s Peace Prize has been awarded by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. This year Mrs Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Laureate 2011 will declare the winner who will receive the Nkosi Statuette along with a Desmond Tutu Study and Care Grant for their education. The winner will also be eligible to apply for a project fund of € 50,000.

Announcing the finalists, Marc Dullaert, Founder and Chair at KidsRights said: “The International Children’s Peace Prize is a testament to the courage, determination, and vision of young changemakers who are shaping a more just and equitable world. This year’s finalists, Nina, Bana and Divyansh, have risen to extraordinary challenges, advocating for environmental justice, war-affected children, and climate action. Their work exemplifies the spirit of the International Children’s Peace Prize  and inspires us all to join the fight for children’s rights.

The International Children’s Peace Prize

The prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize was launched in 2005 during the World Summit of Nobel Peace laureates in Rome, chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. The International Children’s Peace Prize is the most important and prestigious youth prize in the world. It is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children. The message of the young winner is broadcasted by international media and reaches hundreds of millions of people globally.

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Further information: KidsRights@webershandwick.com

Editor’s Notes

About KidsRights

KidsRights is an international non-governmental children’s rights organization that strives for a world where all children have access to their rights and are enabled to realise the great potential they carry within them. KidsRights sees children as changemakers with the power to move the world and facilitates in voicing their opinions and taking action in order to bring about change. KidsRights supports children by commanding global attention for the realization of children’s rights and acts as a catalyst to ignite change, together with children and youth. KidsRights is the founder of world’s most important youth prize – The International Children's Peace Prize; The State of Youth, the world’s first digital borderless state and the organization behind the first and only global annual KidsRights Index that annually measures how children’s rights are respected worldwide and to what extent countries are committed to improving the rights of children.

KidsRights has a consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Please visit our website to find out more about KidsRights: https://www.kidsrights.org/

About Global Child Forum

Global Child Forum is a Swedish non-profit foundation with headquarters in the heart of Stockholm.

We bring together global leaders from business, civil society, academia and government in order to spur action for social change around children’s rights. Our vision is a sustainable world where children’s rights are respected and supported by all stakeholders in society. In particular, we focus on the power of business to be a driver of change, and we encourage businesses to take approaches in their operations and their communities that best advance children’s rights.

Our work is underpinned by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, as well as by our own research and tools.

 

International Children’s Peace Prize Expert Committee

The selection panel comprises:

Marc Dullaert

Founder and Chairman of the KidsRights Foundation and Founder of the International Children’s Peace Prize.

Benyam Mezur

Member and Former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Jo Becker

Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch, Children’s Rights Division.

Tawakkol Karman

Winner Nobel Peace Prize 2011, Human rights activist, journalist, politician, president of Women Journalists without Chains organization.

Yanghee Lee

Professor, developmental psychologist, special rapporteur of the UN on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.