“In this room, we have doers of all sorts. We have educators, medical professionals, advocates, counselors, leaders, and so many more. In this room, ultimately, we have the best of the best,” said Armine Afeyan, CEO of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, opening the Aurora’s inaugural Humanitarian Summit. “Aurora is an organization that amplifies the stories and impact of incredible humanitarians around the world. The main way that we’ve done that for the last 10 years is through a million-dollar prize that goes to a humanitarian who has risked their own lives to save others.”
The May 6 Summit marked the first in a series of events commemorating the 10th anniversary of Aurora’s founding and stood as a tribute to the hope, courage, and compassion shaping our world. More than 80 grassroots leaders, global activists, and changemakers—including nearly 40 Aurora Luminaries from five continents—engaged in dialogue on how to manage and overcome the daily challenges of humanitarian work amidst a global funding crisis.
The opening panel, “Overcoming Obstacles to Humanitarian and Human Rights Work,” featured four remarkable women reshaping the world: Leymah Gbowee, Alice Greenwald, Sunitha Krishnan, and Dulce Valencia.
The panel’s moderator, Aurora Director of Impact Colin Thomas-Jensen, opened with a reflection on current global realities: “Conflict spreading, authoritarianism rising in many places, transnational disruptions like climate change and the coming AI revolution affecting the way that we live our lives…It’s not hard to feel a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness in the face of what I think will be generation-defining challenges.”
He then turned to the panelists to share stories of courage and resilience.
Leymah Gbowee—Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member, and leader of Liberia’s women-led peace movement—recounted launching a peace movement with nothing but conviction and a desk full of bullet holes: “No one can come into your space and tell you how to navigate your space better than yourself. […] Let everyone know what you’re doing. Let your community know you. Let your expertise speak for you.”
Alice Greenwald, Aurora Board Member, founder of Memory Matters LLC, and former head of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, emphasized the power of empathy which begins when people ‘see themselves in the story.’
“In order to get to the head, you have to crack open the heart. […] Everyone in this room is like a mini memorial museum out there in the world, conveying the reality on the ground and the fact that we are not impotent because there are people like you in the world who can make a difference.”
Sunitha Krishnan, a survivor of sexual violence, Aurora Humanitarian, and co-founder of Prajwala, has rescued over 32,000 women and children from sex trafficking in India. She reflected on the horrors she’s experienced and witnessed—and the resilience that fuels her work: “I think it’s an unimaginable kind of a miracle for a person who has seen the worst of humanity yet believes and trusts another human being. The second thing that fills me with hope and energy is the small segment of humanity, which is awakened. And I think this Aurora family is one small example of that segment of humanity.”
Dulce Valencia, Associate Director of Entertainment Partnerships at Define American, once undocumented herself, now works to shift cultural perceptions of immigrants. She spoke of ’radical joy’ as resistance: “We cannot change the politics of immigration until we first change the culture through which immigrants are seen. The work we’ve been doing is working with storytellers to combat these narratives because throughout our work, we’ve been able to study how narratives can shift perceptions.”
Throughout the panel, a shared theme emerged: storytelling—whether through film, protest, museums, or daily acts—has the power to awaken moral consciousness. In a world in urgent need of empathy, the Summit reaffirmed that courage and compassion matter—and when shared, they multiply.
Two breakout sessions followed the opening panel—“Building Sustainable Funding and Financial Resilience” and “Advancing Local Leadership and Advocacy”—where humanitarians shared their stories and perspectives in the context of global cuts to humanitarian funding.