Global Citizen Co-Founder and CEO Hugh Evans Honoured With 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize for Pioneering Efforts to End Extreme Poverty

Seoul, Korea – April 14, 2025 // Hugh Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Citizen has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize, recognising his visionary leadership and innovation in the mission to end extreme poverty. Evans was honoured at the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Seoul, Korea on April 11, becoming the first Australian to receive the honour. 

The Sunhak Peace Prize is a globally respected honour celebrating individuals making significant contributions to peace and human development. The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee is chaired by José Manuel Durão Barroso, former President of the European Commission.

Under Evans’ leadership, Global Citizen has grown into the world’s leading international advocacy organisation driving action to end extreme poverty. Since its inception, $49 billion in funding commitments have been announced on Global Citizen platforms, impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people worldwide.

On accepting the award, Hugh Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Citizen said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize. While over $49 billion has been committed toward the end of extreme poverty, impacting 1.3 billion lives, our mission is more critical now than ever before. We are rising to the challenge – we’re innovating, expanding and will be activating across five continents in the coming year. I share this award with our incredible team, long-standing partners, generous supporters, and global citizens everywhere who have taken action with us over the past decade and beyond.”

Evans co-founded Global Citizen in 2009, building a movement powered by a global community of everyday advocates raising their voices and taking action. The movement is amplified through high-impact campaigns and live events that unite leaders across music, entertainment, public policy, media, philanthropy and the corporate sector. Its flagship Global Citizen Festival has been staged in India, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, France, Germany, and the United States, with this year marking its first Latin American edition in Brazil. The Festival has featured headline performances from artists including Beyoncé, Usher, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Jung Kook, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Post Malone, among many others.

The announcement comes at a pivotal time for Global Citizen as the movement accelerates its impact with new initiatives and partnerships, including the international expansion of the forthcoming Global Citizen NOW summit; the first ever large-scale event in Latin America, Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia, taking place in Belém, Brazil in November ahead of COP30; and the production of the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ final half-time show, in July 2026;

Evans received the main 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize award alongside laureates Patrick Awuah Jr. Founder and President of Ashesi University (Ghana), who has led the transformation of education in Africa and fostered ethical leadership for future generations, and Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (Kenya), who has created a model for sustainable development by integrating environmental conservation with economic empowerment.

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