Anthem Award Winners Announced

Vote.org + Taylor Swift, Elton John AIDS Foundation, UNICEF, Planned Parenthood, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, World Wildlife Fund, It Gets Better Project, SiriusXM Podcast Network, Rare Beauty, World Food Program USA, and ACLU among 3rd Annual Anthem Awards winners announced today.

Matt Damon, Selma Blair, Kevin Bacon, Aurora James, Jesper Brodin, Leon Ford, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson honored with Special Achievement Awards.

Full List of Winners and Call to Action speeches can be found online at anthemawards.com/winners

NEW YORK (Jan. 30, 2024) – The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) today announced the Winners for the 3rd Annual Anthem Awards, which was launched by The Webby Awards in 2021 to recognize social impact work across the globe. Now in its third year, the Anthem Awards are the biggest and most comprehensive social impact award in the world. This year’s winners include change-making nonprofits and foundations like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, IllumiNative, It Gets Better Project, World Central Kitchen, Decolonizing Wealth Project, AARP, and UNICEF; cultural figures including Taylor Swift (with Vote.org), The Daily Show with Trevor Noah; On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Megan Rapinoe, Lil Durk and Amazon Music and RuPaul’s Drag Race; industry and brand leaders like PepsiCo, Rare Beauty, Patagonia, KIND Snacks, Google, Bumble, NFL, and EY; and groundbreaking news and media organizations including ABC News, CNN, TheGrio, Capital B, Al Jazeera, Crooked Media, Dotdash Meredith, theSkimm, VICE Media, and Hearst.

For the full list of winners and to watch winner acceptance speeches visit: http://anthemawards.com/winners

“The Anthem Awards were born out of the desire to amplify and celebrate the voices that are creating sustainable change and to inspire others to take action,” said Patricia McLoughlin, Anthem Awards General Manager. “In a year where so much is at stake, it is incredibly important to recognize impact work and celebrate the progress happening globally. Congratulations to all of this year’s Winners.”

New this year, fans were able to support and celebrate this year’s Finalists through Anthem Community Voice. Winners of the first-ever Anthem Community Voice Awards included: National Women’s Law Center, American Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund, Lush Cosmetics, Capital B, FreeForm, Sesame Workshop, Defence for Children Palestine, Liquid I.V., and more.

The Anthem Awards are also honoring select individuals for their incredible commitment to spurring long-lasting change with Special Achievement Awards. They join the ranks of past Special Achievement Winners including Gloria Steinem, Billy Porter, Naomi Osaka, Dr. Jane Goodall, Pharrell Williams, and more. This year’s Special Achievement Winners are:

Matt Damon – Anthem Special Achievement Award for his career-long commitment to activism, philanthropy, the climate crisis, and access to clean water.
Kevin Bacon – Anthem Entertainer of The Year Award for his commitment to bringing people together, highlighting impactful causes from across the globe, and giving back.
Selma Blair – Anthem Special Achievement Award in recognition of her efforts to raise awareness and change the public perception of how disability is represented in the media.
Jesper Brodin – Anthem Vision Award to recognize his influence and leadership at IKEA and Ingka, improving policies to reduce the company’s carbon footprint while serving as a model for sustainable innovation in the industry.
Misty Copeland – Anthem Special Achievement Award for breaking boundaries in ballet and her commitment to expanding opportunities and equality for the next generation of dancers and artists.
Aurora James – Anthem New Icon Award for leading the way as a purpose-driven brand and promoting the inclusion of Black-owned businesses.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Anthem Special Achievement Award for his advocacy work in the LGBTQ+ community, support for cancer research, and commitment to making a positive impact in the world.
Leon Ford – Anthem Community Impact Award for his work to promote racial justice, holistic wellness, and sustainable and actionable police reform.

“When I am included in lists like this, it’s twofold – first of all it makes me feel seen and it makes me feel that the work I do through my nonprofit, Pronoun, or also the work I do with the Human Rights Campaign or for cancer research is that it’s being seen and being appreciated,” said Anthem Special Achievement winner, actor and activist Jesse Tyler Ferguson. “But also it makes me feel like I’m part of a team and it makes me feel like I’m a part of a community of people that are working really hard to create change in this world because we cannot do it alone.”

“Join me in advocating for inclusivity in the world of dance where every aspiring artist and child can see themselves, and has access and opportunity to experience the arts regardless of their background,” said world-renowned ballet dancer and Anthem Special Achievement winner Misty Copeland.

This year’s Anthem Winners were selected from a pool of over 2,000 submissions from 44 countries by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Anthem judges are intellectually diverse leaders from across the impact industry with expertise that spans across the Anthem cause areas including; Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Education, Art, & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment, & Climate. IADAS members include: Heather Dowdy, Director of Product Accessibility, Netflix; Alex Amouyel, President & CEO, Newman’s Own Foundation; Noel Kinder, Chief Sustainability Officer, Nike; Shaniqua McClendon, Vice President of Politics, Crooked Media/Vote Save America; Rawle Andrews Jr., Esq., Executive Director, American Psychiatric Association Foundation; Alison Moore, CEO, Comic Relief US; Christina Lang, Vice President of North American Marketing, Mozilla; Michelle Waring, Steward for Sustainability and Everyday Good, Tom’s of Maine; and more.

The Anthem Awards were launched in 2021 to celebrate and highlight the incredible social impact work happening across the globe. They were founded by The Webby Awards in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, GLAAD, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.

A portion of program revenue is directed to The Anthem Fund, a grant program supporting emerging organizations working to advance the causes recognized by the Anthem Awards. This year the Anthem Fund is partnering with Billion Oyster Project.

Fans can experience Anthem Call-To-Action Speeches from every winner including Special Achievement honorees at anthemawards.com/winners/

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About The Anthem Awards: Launched in 2021 by The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, we’re defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their own communities. The Anthem Awards honors work across seven core causes: Diversity; Equity & Inclusion; Education; Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment & Climate. Founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, Glaad, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.

About The Webby Awards: Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites & Mobile Sites; Video; Advertising, Media & PR; Apps, dApps & Software; Social; Podcasts; Games and Metaverse, Immersive & Virtual. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received more than 14,000 entries from over 70 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include Verizon, WP Engine, YouGov, Canva, Omidyar Network, NAACP, KPMG, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, Podcast Movement, All Tech Is Human, and AIGA

Find The Anthem Awards Online:

Website: anthemawards.com

Facebook: facebook.com/anthemawards

Twitter: @anthemawards

Instagram: @anthemawards

LinkedIn: The Anthem Awards

YouTube: wbby.co/anthem-youtube

Congratulations to this year’s Anthem Award Winners! All Winners and Call to Action speeches can be found online at http://anthemawards.com/winners

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

AARP: Real People, Real Stories Series
Al Jazeera Digital: AJ Close Up | The Women of Football
American Red Cross: Prepare with Pepper and Kai
Boxcat Creative Communications/Truasic: Megan Rapinoe, Chief Equality Officer
Brooklyn Public Library: Borrowed and Banned
Complex Networks/Bulleit Frontier Whiskey: New American Food Pioneers
Decolonizing Wealth Project
GLAAD: Black Queer Creative Summit (BQCS)
Google: Ballroom in Focus
Group Effort Initiative
Inside Projects/Netflix: Descendant – A Community Archiving Project
IllumiNative: American Genocide: The Crimes of Native American Boarding Schools
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: We See You: Inspiring Women. Powerful Stories.
McCann New York/Microsoft: ADLaM: An Alphabet to Preserve a Culture
Meta: Pa’ Mi Gente Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month
National Football League: Club Q – Stronger Together
Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Nicole Taylor, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation
TANK Worldwide/ PRB / Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project: Lullabye
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
TheGrio: BlackMade
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: How Can We Solve the Black Maternal Health Crisis?
THIRTEEN/WNET: Mission US: No Turning Back
WORD Creative/Rare Beauty: What are you made of?

Education, Art & Culture

All It Takes: All It Takes – A Trusted Space
Amazon Music: Collaboration with Lil Durk
American Federation of Teachers: Share My Lesson
Caring Across Generations: The Caring Across Generations Creative Care Council
Define American: Change the Narrative, Change the World: The Power of Immigrant Representation on Television
Edelman/Taco Bell Foundation: Taco Bell Foundation’s Round Up Program
EY: Supporting the next generation and impact entrepreneurship
Hacker Valley Media: Mastering Focus with Simone Biles and Amy Bream at RSA
Jay Shetty: On Purpose with Jay Shetty
LACMA: Unpacking the Universe: The Making of an Exhibition
Milton Hershey School: Let’s Talk About Poverty
Musicians On Call: Making Prom Memories with Pediatric Patients
Participant: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Impact Campaign
PBS Nature: Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
PRELOADED: Wonders: Pyramids of Giza
Sesame Workshop: Introducing: SesameWorkshop.org
Southern Poverty Law Center: Willing to fight: Florida residents mobilize to save Hungerford school
The Be. Org: In my Shoes – Creating Safe Spaces for Baltimore Youth to Learn & Grow
The Education Trust: Can’t Be Erased
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Thank an Arts Teacher
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: Eishishok’s Stories: An Augmented Reality Experience
Young Authors Publishing

Health

72andSunny/Wisp X Abortion Freedom Fund Partners: Plan C, Stix, Mayday Health, August: Anti-Choice Ads
AARP: Boosting Your Core Strength With Denise Austin
ABC News: David Muir Reports: “The Orphans Of Covid: America’s Hidden Toll”
Advocates for Youth: AMAZE.org – More Info, Less Weird
Autumn Communications/The Women’s Intimate and Sexual Health Foundation: Cliterology
Blossom/UNAIDS: The Path That Ends AIDS
The Estée Lauder Companies: The Estée Lauder Companies’ 2022-2023 Breast Cancer Campaign
CDC Foundation: Understanding Health Equity Using Data
Coalition for Food and Health Equity
DEPT/Amazon Web Services (AWS): Easy Genomics
Droga5/Ad Council: Check In On Your Friends. Even The ‘Strong’ Ones.
Edelman/American Sexual Health Association: Let’s Tok About Sex
Evidence Action: Safe Water to Save Lives
Gradient Experiential/CeraVe: CeraVe x The DAISY Foundation – Hands of Healing
#HappyPeriod: flow: a period care program from #HappyPeriod
Jack.org: The Be There Certificate
MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks: Behind the Scenes of RuPaul’s Drag Race LGBTQ Herstory Month
Neon, An IPG Health Company/DomesticShelters.Org: Code Red
McKinney/AdCouncil: Prepare For Misuse
Paramount: Untreated & Unheard: The Addiction Crisis in America
Planned Parenthood Federation of America: Abortion is digital: Wayfinding to Telehealth.
Threespot/The Trevor Project: 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People
UNICEF: State of the World’s Children Report

Human & Civil Rights

A—B/Demand Justice: Just Majority: Democracy demands a fair, ethical court
Al Jazeera Digital: Recreating a Palestinian village 75 years after the Nakba
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): The ACLU’s “Right to Learn” Campaign
Bully Pulpit Interactive/Patagonia: Driving Youth Voter Turnout in 2022
Campaign Zero: Rikers in Crisis
Crooked Media: F*ck Bans: Leave Queer Kids Alone Pride Campaign
Community Change: People Power: Democracy Stories from the Ground Up
Defense for Children Palestine: Empowering Children as Human Rights Defenders to Enhance Participation and Accountability Mechanisms.
Elton John AIDS Foundation: Let Your Inner Elton Out
It Gets Better Project: It Gets Better with… Olivia Julianna
Invisible People
Meraki Communications Group/The Sentencing Project: 50 Years and A Wake Up: Ending The Mass Incarceration Crisis in America.
Southern Poverty Law Center: Trashing Their Rights
The Fuller Project: An Investigation Uncovering Sexual, Physical Abuse Prompts Change
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: The Surge in Anti-Trans Bills and Attacks on LGBTQ+ Health, Public Health On Call Podcast
National Women’s Law Center: Abortion Access Legal Defense Fund
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: In the Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection: A Walking Tour of January 6th
ThinkShout/Amnesty International USA: Amnesty International USA: Action Drawer
Vital Voices: The 2nd Annual Vital Voices Festival
Vote.org: Vote.org + Taylor Swift on National Voter Registration Day
World Economic Forum: Dance to Live: The Story of Ballet Dancer Ahmed Joudah

Humanitarian Action & Services

AARP: The Graying of America’s Homeless
ABC News: ABC News – Uvalde: 365
Allegiance Group/Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund: Mass Shootings in the United States
Al Jazeera Digital: You are not honourable anymore’: Shamed and trafficked into Iraq’s sex trade
American Psychiatric Association Foundation: Mental Health Care Works
American Red Cross: Wildfire Enhancement – Emergency App
Books That Heal: Books That Heal
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation: Emergency Preparedness for People With Paralysis
Clinton Foundation: Clinton Global Initiative 2023 Meeting
Intuitive Content/World Food Program USA: Paving the Way to Zero Hunger
Lenovo: Beyond Water
LinkedIn: LinkedIn for Nonprofits | Impact Summit 2023
L+R/Global Citizen: Global Citizen App Refresh: Empowering Youth
Physicians for Human Rights: Technology in Service of Justice for Sexual Violence in Humanitarian Settings
Project HOPE: HOPE for Türkiye and Syria
The Hip Hop Museum: FlowScholar: The Universal Hip Hop Museum(THHM)
The PepsiCo Foundation: The PepsiCo Foundation’s Community Impact Grants
SixDegrees.org: Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon
The International Rescue Committee: World Refugee Day
UNICEF: UNICEF’s Internet Connectivity Initiative, Giga, Pilots Staking Initiative In Rwanda to Sustain Internet Access
Upstatement/Everytown for Gun Safety: Gun Law Navigator

Responsible Technology

AARP: Personal Technology Help Center
Action for the Climate Emergency: AI for the Climate Emergency
#BlackTechFutures Research Institute: Dreaming of a Black Tech Future: A Digital Equity Assessment of Black Tech Ecosystems
Black Chateau Enterprises: A Just Transition
DoorDash: DoorDash’s Accelerator for Local Restaurants
DEPT/Amazon Web Services (AWS): Easy Genomics
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Electronic Frontier Foundation’s “How to Fix the Internet” podcast
Esri: An Interview With Jane Goodall
Girls First Finance Foundation: Combating the Crisis of Sex for Education and Jobs
Labyrinth Training/Spotify: The Sweet Spot: Spotify’s Ethics and Compliance Series
MIT Technology Review: When AI hears a problem
MMG EARTH: AI x Racial Justice Toolkit
Mozilla Foundation: IRL: Online Life is Real Life
Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC): Black Churches 4 Digital Equity Coalition ACP National Day of Action
Neon, An IPG Health Company/DomesticShelters.org & Safe In Harm’s Way Foundation: Love Me Not
Pega: Preventing Discrimination in AI Outcomes with Ethical Bias Check
PepsiCo Global: Decoding Our Digital Evolution – Kickoff Video
Redglass Pictures/MIT Solve: The Big Idea
WRTHY/ChildFund International: #TakeItDown

Sustainability, Climate & Environment

A—B: Black Fahrenheit: A Proactive Climate Content Campaign for Young BIPOC Audiences
ABC News: The Power of Water
BBC Studios: Frozen Planet II Minecraft Partnership
The World’s First Regenerative Ad Edelman/TAZO
DEPT/eBay: Coupling up with pre-loved
EPAM Continuum/WWF: Earth Hour 2023: Launching the Biggest Hour for Earth
KIND Snacks: The KIND Almond Acres Initiative Digital Experience
NowThis: NowThis Earth
Outright: Environmental Defense Fund: Vision 2030
Project Everyone: Inches with Al Pacino
Project Mumbai: The Mumbai Plastic Recyclothon
Purpose: Building an Islamic Climate Movement
SustainableSurf: Sustainable Surf Ecoboard Project: The Seaweed Surfboard
The Nature Conservancy: The Nature Conservancy’s Nature Lab
The Solutions Project: Gloria Walton, CEO & President at The Solutions Project
THIRTEEN: Cyberchase: Cyber Fashion Challenge
WING/Formula E x UNICEF: Take A Breath
Woodwell Climate Research Center: Permafrost Pathways: Connecting Science, People, and Policy for Arctic Justice and Global Climate
World Surf League
World Wildlife Fund: WWF’s Wild Classroom

For press or media questions:

anthemawards@ssmandl.com