Egyptian Biodynamic Association together with SEKEM Wins the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity 2024

Cairo, Egypt – 11-07-2024 – The Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA), together with SEKEM has been honored with the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This prestigious award recognizes EBDA’s significant contributions to global food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem protection. EBDA, along with SEKEM (Egypt), has been active in promoting biodynamic agriculture practices for almost five decades. We share the €1 million prize funding equally with our co-winners, SEKEM, Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (India) and Rattan Lal (USA/India), a scientist who pioneered a soil-centric approach to agriculture, to help continue and scale their work for more secure and sustainable food systems.

The announcement came from a distinguished Jury, chaired by Dr. Angela Merkel, which selected EBDA and the SEKEM initiative from a pool of 181 nominations representing 117 nationalities. 

Justus Harm, Co-Executive Director of the EBDA stated: “We are deeply honored to receive the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity together with SEKEM, Andhra Pradesh Community and Rattan Lal. This recognition highlights the critical role that biodynamic agriculture plays in addressing global food security, mitigation and adaptation as well as farm resilience, and ecosystem regeneration. We are committed to scaling these farming practices, supporting our farmers, and promoting the holistic Economy of Love approach benefitting farming communities in Egypt and beyond.”

Dr. Angela Merkel, President of the Jury, stated: “Access to high-quality food is of existential importance to everyone. Climate change and the resulting global warming have led to an increase in extreme weather events and are endangering food security around the world. This presents everyone engaged in the agriculture sphere with particular challenges. This year’s winners have demonstrated in an exemplary fashion how climate-resilient and sustainable food systems can be developed and put into practice.”

António Feijó, President of the Board of Trustees of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, remarked: “We are honored to recognize the recipients for pioneering work in sustainable agriculture and offering innovative solutions to global food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem protection. Each winner has demonstrated exceptional commitment to transforming agricultural practices, proving that sustainable models can thrive in diverse and challenging environments. Their work also demonstrates the co-benefits of sustainable agriculture for communities as well as the planet. We believe their stories will inspire others to apply similar approaches in other regions and help us build a sustainable future for all.”

The 2024 Gulbenkian Prize underscores the interconnected nature of climate-related challenges, highlighting how climate change exacerbates biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and resource degradation, which in turn disrupt food systems and human health globally. Industrial agriculture, a significant contributor to climate change, also faces immense challenges due to its impact on carbon emissions, land and water degradation, and biodiversity loss.

The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, now in its fifth year, rewards individuals and organizations tackling humanity’s biggest challenges: climate change and nature loss. With an award of €1 million, the Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to climate action and solutions that inspire hope and possibility. Over the past five years, the Prize has helped communities face the worst impacts of climate change and scale the work of winners in restoring vital ecosystems, supporting energy transition, and fostering climate resilience.

For more information, please contact: Yasmin Khedr

About the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life through the arts, charity, education, and science. The Foundation supports innovative initiatives and projects worldwide, promoting sustainable development and addressing global challenges.

About EBDA: The Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA) is an independent organization dedicated to promoting biodynamic agriculture practices and principles of the Economy of Love in Egypt and beyond. Today the EBDA is supporting over 10,000 farming members and the transition of over 40,000 acres in Egypt.

About SEKEM: a conglomerate of NGOs, businesses, and the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, has championed holistic approaches to address societal challenges and mitigate climate change for nearly 50 years. Originating from a desert region, SEKEM has revitalized arid lands and local communities through biodynamic farming.