Nominations
In October 2020, we invited you to nominate your 2020 Human Rights Heroes for a new online campaign to recognise and amplify the work of people who have made a contribution to human rights on the ground in Australia this year. We had no shortage of nominations and choosing our 10 finalists was not an easy task.
If you would like to join us in celebrating them, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube to share our #HumanRightsHero posts.
FAQ’s
Why isn’t the person/organisation I nominated selected?
It was extremely difficult to select just 10 finalists from the many worthy nominations we received. The 10 finalists were shortlisted on the basis of the proof we received in the nominations of the outstanding work done by the people or organisations nominated to defend and further human rights on the ground in 2020.
The finalists were not shortlisted based on the number of nominations received, but on the strength of the nominations received.
We received many nominations for people and organisations who had done undeniably great work – but not necessarily in 2020. As the campaign is to reward people / organisations who have done outstanding work this year, we were unable to shortlist those nominees.
We also received nominations for a number of high-profile individuals and political figures (from most parties in Australia). As the point of the Human Rights Heroes campaign is to shine a spotlight on unsung community heroes in particular, and these people already have a public platform, they were not shortlisted as finalists.
Why isn’t the person/organisation I admire a finalist?
We could only shortlist people who were nominated during our public submissions period (1 – 31 October). If you, or someone else, did not nominate that person or organisation, the Commission could not consider them. This doesn’t make them any less of a Human Rights Hero but it does mean we can’t consider them for the campaign this year!
This is the Commission’s first year of running the Human Rights Heroes campaign we hope you will consider making a nomination to our next Human Rights Heroes campaign.
What happened to the Human Rights Awards?
Every year the Commission holds the Human Rights Awards to celebrate human rights achievements. It is a chance to acknowledge, congratulate and share the important work of organisations, businesses, and individuals across the nation.
However, given the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 we believe a different approach is needed this year to celebrate the many human rights champions who have emerged. So we are showcasing the human rights heroes of 2020 in a new online campaign. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the many people who have made a difference on the ground during what has been a very challenging year!
Are the Human Rights Heroes receiving Human Rights Awards?
No – they are two separate processes. We are not holding the Human Rights Awards in 2020.
Where can I find out more about the 2020 Human Rights Heroes?
You can read more about the 10 finalists here.
If you would like to join us in celebrating them, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube to share our #HumanRightsHero posts.
