The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was created in 1984 by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, now known as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, to honor individuals around the world who have shown great courage and have made a significant contribution to human rights in their country.
In addition to receiving a financial award, laureates can partner with the RFK Center on projects to advance their human rights work, benefiting from the resources and technologies at the foundation's disposal. Some have achieved their goals, some are in exile from their home country. The majority continue to live in their home country and work with the support of the center to establish the human rights they are working for.
Since 1984, awards have been given to 37 individuals and organizations, from 24 countries.
The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights foundation also presents Ripple of Hope Awards annually to business, entertainment, and activist leaders. The name of the award is inspired by Kennedy's Ripple of Hope speech in 1966.[1][2] They first presented the award in 2007.[3]
ripple2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).