National Endowment for Democracy

“Tibet’s leaders, particularly those in the Tibetan government-in-exile have done remarkable work to keep hope alive among their countrymen.” U.S. Representative and member of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) board of directors Joaquin Castro presented the 2024 Democracy Service Medal to Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration. Hear about the sikyong’s efforts to halt the erasure of Tibetan culture and identity. #DemocracyAwards #DemocracyServiceMedal

“There’s one thing worse than suffering and the worse thing than suffering is suffering in anonymity, when nobody knows what’s going on.” Former U.S. Representative Peter Roskam, Member of the National Endowment of Democracy’s Board of Directors, presented the 2024 NED Democracy Award to Tibet Action Institute (TAI). Hear how TAI brought to light the comprehensive agenda of cultural erasure happening in Chinese colonial boarding schools in Tibet. #DemocracyAwards

“The world is in a war we did not choose, between dictators with 'rule of gun' invading democracies with rule of law.” U.S. Representative Joe Wilson presented the 2024 NED Democracy Award to Kateryna Rashevska, legal expert with Kyvi-based Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR). Hear how RCHR is holding Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvov-Belova accountable for the kidnapping and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. #DemocracyAwards

“Sviatlana is driven by a calling to unite us, not divide us. And she is driven by the belief that democracy and human rights are for everyone.” U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen presented the 2024 NED Democracy Service Medal to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of Free Belarus. Hear how Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is fighting for a democratic Belarus. #DemocracyAwards #DemocracyServiceMedal Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

“Investing in young people now will create dividends far into the future, not only for Sudan, but for the entire African continent.” U.S. Representative Sarah Jacobs presented the 2024 NED Democracy Award to Zahra Hayder, executive director of the Waey Organization. Hear about the Waey Organization's remarkable effort to empower young leaders. #DemocracyAwards

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell received the Democracy Service Medal for his distinguished leadership in support of freedom and defense of democracy champions around the world, from Burma to Ukraine. Mitch McConnell is the United States Senate Republican Leader, the longest-serving Senate Party Leader in American history, and Kentucky’s longest-serving senator. McConnell has been praised as one of “the three most important Republicans of the past 100 years.” TIME Magazine has thrice named McConnell one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. As Majority Leader, McConnell led a transformation of the federal judiciary, leading the Senate confirmation of 234 lifetime appointments to the federal bench. Throughout his career, he has championed an internationalist foreign policy grounded in a strong national defense, engagement with allies, and defense of democratic institutions and values worldwide. McConnell is a graduate of the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky College of Law. He serves as a senior member of the Appropriations, Agriculture, and Rules Committees. McConnell is married to Elaine L. Chao, former Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Labor. #DemocracyAwards

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi received the Democracy Service Medal for her outspoken support for democracy advocates around the world, especially those who took great risks, and for democratic allies including Taiwan and Ukraine. Nancy Pelosi served as the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. She made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker and again in 2019 when she became the first person in more than six decades to regain the Speakership. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024. Pelosi is the architect of generation-defining legislation, including laws to lower health care costs, rebuild infrastructure, support small businesses, protect the planet and deliver assistance for students and veterans. Pelosi is a steadfast defender of democracy at home, particularly in response to the January 6th insurrection, and is a powerful voice for human rights around the world. Pelosi has represented San Francisco in Congress for 37 years. Married to Paul Pelosi, she is a proud mother of five and grandmother of ten. #DemocracyAwards

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) honored Evgenia Kara-Murza with the Democracy Service Medal for her international advocacy on behalf of all political prisoners, their families, and those who believe in a democratic Russia. NED also honored Vladimir Kara-Murza, imprisoned Russian opposition leader, with the Democracy Service Medal for his support for truth and democracy in Russia and his courage to continue to speak out against Russia’s war in Ukraine even from behind bars. Evgenia Kara-Murza accepted the Democracy Service Medal on his behalf. Evgenia Kara-Murza is a Russian human rights activist and the advocacy director of the Free Russia Foundation (FRF). She is also chair of the 30th of October Foundation, an organization that provides help to Russian political prisoners and their families. Kara-Murza spearheads FRF’s efforts in public diplomacy and global outreach on behalf of Russian civil society. She engages multilateral oversight mechanisms to hold the Russian government accountable for violating its international commitments on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, and establishing personal accountability for Kremlin officials complicit in corruption and human rights abuses. She is part of FRF’s global campaign for solidarity with Russian anti-war and pro-democracy activists both inside and outside of the country and is a voice for political prisoners in the Russian Federation. Kara-Murza was born in Russia’s Far East, graduated with honors from the Moscow State Linguistic University, and worked as a translator and interpreter for pro-democracy NGOs such as the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, the Institute of Modern Russia, and Pen America. Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian politician, author, historian, and political prisoner. He was arrested in April 2022 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison for his activism and vocal opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Twice, in 2015 and 2017, Kara-Murza was poisoned and left in a coma; a subsequent media investigation identified officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service behind the poisonings. A longtime colleague of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, Kara-Murza was a candidate for the Russian Parliament and served as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party. Kara-Murza played a key role in the adoption of targeted sanctions on Russian human rights violators in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Great Britain. He is a contributing writer at The Washington Post and was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his columns written from his prison cell. Kara-Murza was the founding chairman of the Nemtsov Foundation and served as vice president of Open Russia and the Free Russia Foundation. Kara-Murza is the recipient of several awards, including the Sakharov Prize for Journalism as an Act of Conscience, the Magnitsky Human Rights Award, and the Geneva Summit Courage Award. #DemocracyAwards

Valeriia Sydorova, a former forcibly abducted child from the Kherson region of Ukraine, shared her harrowing story at the 2024 NED Democracy Awards. Valeriia Sydorova lived with her grandparents in Nova Kakhovka in Kherson, which was occupied by Russian forces in February 2022. In October 2022, she was forcibly transferred to Yevpatoria in occupied Crimea alongside hundreds of other children. Sydorova was pressured to move to Russia, but she refused and was instead allowed to move to occupied Genichesk, closer to her home. There she was forced to study Russian curriculum and join a militarized organization for children, Yunarmy. She managed to escape, walking for several hours until she reached Ukrainian-controlled territory. Today, she is studying to be a doctor and dreams of helping other Ukrainian children from the same camp, the majority of whom were forcibly transferred to Russia, to return home. #DemocracyAwards

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) honored Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, with the Democracy Service Medal for his leadership defending democracy and human rights on behalf of all Tibetans. Penpa Tsering is sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). He has dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of the Tibetan people and safeguarding the culture of Tibet as a civil society leader and politician. Penpa Tsering received his B.A. from Madras Christian College and was a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile for four consecutive terms, serving as speaker for two of those terms. Penpa Tsering also served as the executive director of the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre (TPPRC) as well as a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C. Since his election as the second democratically-elected sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in 2021, Penpa Tsering has worked to strengthen the CTA’s governance, advocated for the Tibetan people in meetings with world leaders, and raised concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s policies restricting Tibetans’ rights and culture. He has also worked tirelessly to secure the release of Tibetan political prisoners and pursued dialogue with the Chinese government. #DemocracyAwards