The Albies were created by George and Amal Clooney to shine a protective spotlight on brave individuals and groups from around the globe who, at great personal risk, have devoted their lives to fighting for justice.
The Albies are named after anti-apartheid hero Justice Albie Sachs, who received a Lifetime Achievement in Pursuit of Justice award at our inaugural event in 2022.
Albie taught us the power of those three little letters – why.
Former First Lady of the United States
He used them to help transform his own country and in doing so, he challenged us to use them to transform our own. That’s what we honor tonight—not just a single man’s legacy of progress but the possibility of progress that’s yet to be written, possibility that lies inside all of us.
At The Albies, the sacrifices and courageous commitments to justice and human rights take center stage. This is a celebration of the individuals whose lives and careers have come to embody those values that form the cornerstone of our foundation’s global work.
Fatou Baldeh is one of the world’s leading voices on the dangers of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), which impacts 230 million women globally. A survivor herself, she founded Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL) and successfully advocated against a 2024 effort to overturn The Gambia’s ban on the practice.
Jose Rubén Zamora is one of Guatemala’s most respected journalists, known for investigating corruption. After his newspaper published critical reporting about Guatemala’s president, he was charged and convicted of money laundering. CFJ’s TrialWatch monitored his trial, grading it an F due to a series of egregious violations. He is in prison awaiting retrial.
Marty Baron’s legacy as executive editor of The Boston Globe and The Washington Post exemplifies the value of a free press. Under his leadership, the Globe exposed the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse, while the Post reported on widespread digital surveillance of American citizens.
Melinda French Gates has championed global efforts for women’s health and equality for over 25 years. After setting the direction of the world’s largest philanthropy for more than two decades at the Gates Foundation, she now leads Pivotal — an organization that advances women’s empowerment around the world. She helped launch a campaign to end child marriage in partnership with CFJ and the Obama Foundation in 2023.
As president of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker created the first billion-dollar social bond in U.S. capital markets to stabilize nonprofit organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. His generosity and determination have touched countless communities during a decades-long career that has ranged from building affordable housing in Harlem to funding pioneering global social justice initiatives.
Dolores Huerta received the Lifetime Achievement in Pursuit of Justice award.
Memory Banda received the Justice For Women award.
Women Wage Peace & Women of the Sun received the Justice For Survivors award.
Luis Carlos Díaz received the Justice For Journalists award.
Nadia Murad received the Justice For Defenders of the Rule of Law Award.
Dr Denis Mukwege received the Lifetime Achievement in Pursuit of Justice award.
Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi received the Justice For Women award.
Truth Hounds received the Justice For Survivors award.
The Syrian Center For Media And Freedom Of Expression received the Justice For Journalists award.
Thai Lawyers For Human Rights received the Justice For Democracy Defenders award.
Click here to learn more about the 2023 Albies.
Justice Albie Sachs was honored with a lifetime achievement award;
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa was honored with the Justice For Journalists award;
iACT, an organization that supports survivors of genocide in refugee camps, received the Justice For Survivors award;
Belarusian human rights group Viasna was awarded the Justice For Democracy Defenders award; and
The Samburu Girls Foundation, a Kenyan-based organization, was honored with the Justice For Women award.
Click here to learn more about the 2022 Albies.
“As always, we are so grateful to our allies in our mission to wage justice, helping the Clooney Foundation to grow its reach and scale its impact.”
— Amal and George Clooney
Sentinel
Charlotte Tilbury
George and Amal Clooney
Versace
Champion
Microsoft
Brad Smith and Kathy Surace-Smith
Guardian
Anonymous
Anonymous
Defender
Agnes Gund
Bloomberg LP
Cartier
Cisco
Creative Artists Agency
Gibson Dunn LLP
Joan Ganz Cooney and Holly Peterson Fund
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Lawdan Shojaee Foundation
Mariam Zerehi and Michael Warden
Nespresso
PepsiCo
Todd Wagner Foundation
Advocate
Antoinette Delruelle and Joshua L Steiner
Davis, Wright, & Tremaine LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Marco Masotti
Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and Greg Nobile
Weil, Gotshal, & Manges LLP
