Freedom United’s 2026 For Freedom Awards

Digital Activist of the Year

Recognizing individuals who have harnessed online platforms to take dedicated action toward ending modern slavery

Freedom United is proud to award the Digital Activist of the Year Award to Sea-Watch whose lifesaving rescue work is matched with relentless documentation of human rights violations against migrants in the Central Mediterranean. In 2025, Sea-Watch published a landmark report showing how violence against migrants by the Libyan Coast Guard has steadily escalated—exposing how the EU‘s hostile migration policies sustain systems of abuse.

Runner up
Julia Hubbard

Campaign of the Year

Celebrating a campaign that has secured significant changes for a world more resilient to modern slavery

Freedom United is proud to award the Campaign of the Year Award to Freedom Network USA, a leading national coalition advancing survivor-centered policy and systems change across the United States. Last year, they were instrumental in securing the release of $88 million in long-delayed federal funding for trafficking survivor services after the US Department of Justice stalled the 2025 grant process, putting more than 3,000 survivors at risk of losing essential support. 

Runner up
Union of Indonesian Migrant Workers (SBMI)

Storytelling for Freedom

Honoring an individual or organization whose impactful stories, art, or media have raised critical awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery.

Freedom United is proud to award the Storytelling for Freedom Award to Beyond Trafficking and Slavery (BTS), an  editorial platform that transformed how modern slavery is understood. By challenging “bad apple” narratives and exposing the structural drivers of exploitation, including poverty, migration policy, and corporate power, they reshaped anti-trafficking discourse and bridged the gaps between academia, activism and lived experience. BTS penned their last piece in 2025, leaving a forever lasting legacy on the anti-trafficking sector.

Runner up
Jane Lasonder

Rising Changemaker

Honoring the young leaders who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the anti-slavery movement

Freedom United is proud to award the Rising Changemaker Award to Feith Murunga, a courageous survivor advocate and emerging leader working to elevate the voices of trafficked women and migrant domestic workers exploited across the Gulf region. After surviving modern slavery in Saudi Arabia, she now supports fellow survivors in building their legal cases to seek remedies for their abuse as well as building a survivor-led network to support returnees and their families.

Runner up
David Yambio