The Hero Awards

Since 2019, the Hero Award has celebrated individuals or institutions who have made significant strides towards addressing the UN’s 17 Agenda for Sustainability Goals, and specifically the 169 Targets the UN has identified within the Goals proper.

In 2025 our focus has turned heavily towards AI solutions.

While we still confer the prize on those who invent, develop, or refine solutions to the Targets in 'traditional' ways, we now reward those who have demonstably 'moved the needle' in combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence in novel ways to address the issues represented by the 17 Goals.

(The UN would theoretically like the Targets to be met by 2030. While we think this is unrealistic, the 169 still provide a useful breakdown of the Goals)

Our newest Challenge involves a protocol developed by previous Hero Award winners which sequences 7 popular AI bots to uncover and create original innovative thinking for the 169 targets. [Scroll to the bottom to read complete Target list]. Turned into a viable prompt, every Target is given to each AI in turn, and the answer fed into the next one, until it has been refined by all seven.

This process takes advantage of the strong points each LLM model has, while drastically reducing hallucination. The result is a comprehensive, trustworthy, solidly grounded plan of action for achieving the given Target.

The sequence which has so far proven to elicit the most original, profound, and actionable solutions is this:

To participate, someone chooses one of the Targets and turns it into a prompt, adding this:

"From now on, act as an expert assistant with access to all your reasoning and knowledge. Always provide:

A clear, direct answer to the request.

A step-by-step explanation of how you got there.

Alternative perspectives or solutions that are not typical of mainstream thinking on this Target.

A practical summary or action plan that can be applied immediately.

Never give vague answers. If the question is broad, break it into parts. If you are asked for clarification, act like a professional in that domain (teacher, coach, engineer, doctor, etc.). Push your reasoning to 100% of your capacity."

[This prompt, chosen from a sample group of hundreds, has shown itself to be best at getting the most useful answers from all 7 of the AIs]

The first iterations of this formula have been performed by students from Cambridge, Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, and Princeton.

As of late 2025 opportunities to employ the protocols have been offered to everyone else.

When someone follows the formula carefully, they will very likely win a Hero Award, as the probability is overwhelming that this much AI-assisted cogitation will unearth valuable new innovative answers.

Answers are archived on The Hero Awards' academia.edu site, so they can be studied indefinitely. Participants can address more than one UN Target, and multiple people can utilize the same Target, as the AIs (and their human partners) are almost endlessly creative in deriving new solutions.

Winners of the Hero Award are celebrated in our social media, blogs, websites, and in press releases. One privilege associated with earning the prize is that a winner can confer it upon others, provided they follow the protocol.

In initial experiments it has been discovered that as valuable as the multiple-AI derived results can be, far more important has been the advancement in cognitive skills experienced by participants who work with the 7 AIs this way. Each AI has a different 'personality'; each has varied strengths and weaknesses. As users work the system, they improve the ability of each AI to respond, but they also improve their own skills exponentially.

In a preliminary project which was a forerunner to this one, conducted in 2021, it was discovered that for every 100 run-throughs, 61 participants wrote a popular blog post, 39 published an article, 8 started an NGO or non-profit entity associated with the chosen Target, and 5 initiated a startup company. This was before the occurrence of Generative AI, of course, so results are not precisely comparable, but we expect the results for this iteration to be similar.

2024 Hero Awards

1. The Deepa Vijayaraghavan Award, for Female Entrepreneurship in South Asia https://startup.siliconindia.com/vendor/shevolve-india-s-first-womenonly-mentoring-platform-that-is-transforming-leadership-for-women-cid-18081.html

2. The Shevchenko Award, for developing SaaS for reconstruction startups in Ukraine

3. The Byatshandaa Jargal Award, for empowering family farms in Mongolia https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/Life_Journeys_of_Transformative_Leaders_1.pdf

4. The Christina Yang Prize for using the MIT climate simulator to predict commodity shortages in ocean-derived precious metals https://en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?v=23.8.0

5. The Fatima Issa Prize, for promoting the use of Generative AI and forecasting tools like Metaculus to reform government ministries in Niger Metaculus.com

2023 Hero Awards

Kylee Hamamoto

WeGo! Hawaii helps young women discover and pursue their passions through leadership workshops and spaces for community-building and empowerment.

Jack Reichert

Go Green Filter is an invention that can convert the CO2 emissions from cars into oxygen via a filter containing algae, water, and light. Using the power of photosynthesis, the filter aims to be easy-to-use for consumers and would cut carbon emissions generated by automobiles by an estimated 74.25 percent.

Atreya Manaswi

Save Our Bees! has invented an organic treatment for small hive beetles, a pest that plagues honeybee hives.

Coonradt Jensen

Seeds of Hope is building and stocking seed libraries in spaces like schools and libraries, placing the power of re-establishing plant species native to Illinois back in the hands of community members.

2022 Hero Awards

Eden Wilson

Lemonerdy University is a peer-to-peer education platform that employs youth as instructors in STEM subjects.

Allison Huang

CapyChat is an AI-powered communication tool that helps children with autism express themselves. With this tool, children can chat with their favorite animals in multiple languages or create drawings that AI will transform into text.

Kasim Khapra

MyPy Coding’s team of over 100 tutors offers free, virtual, one-on-one coding lessons to second through eighth graders. They recruit older students as tutors, fostering connection and engagement among participants.

Subhadra Vadlamannati

EduLang is an app focused on translating children’s books into languages and dialects that are featured less frequently. The app uses machine translation APIs to translate children’s books into 108 languages, including Swahili, Ukrainian, and Somali.

2021 Hero Awards

Royford Mutegi, Diana Wairimu

Vermi-farm Initiative promotes sustainable farming, vermicomposting, and integrated waste management for farmers in Kenya.

Paul Coker

FarmSmarter supports locally based sustainable agriculture in Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana

Budi Setiawan, Ade Afrilian, Sendi Kenya

Fight for Dignity Supports empowering smallholders in Indonesia to benefit from Tourism industry

Ana Rosa

Meli network empowers indigenous and local communities to connect with experts to help shape

their regenerative practices.

2020 Hero Awards

Ecogenia

Mobilizes teams of young people to implement climate projects in underserved communities across Greece.

Dunia Bora

Helping East Africans engage in cactus farming as a way to build environmentally responsible enterprises.

Padam Jain

Conserving See, Enriching Lives is an NGO that supports 100,000 women farmers in India through projects such as preserving seed from healthy plant stocks that are in danger of dying out.

Concular

Revolutionizing the construction industry, which is involved in 40% of global carbon emissions, by introducing sustainable recycling practices.

Biopac

We innovate and manufacture seaweed-based bioplastics to reduce single-use plastic waste pollution and GHG emissions and to uplift the livelihood of seaweed farmers.

2019 Hero Awards

At 28 years old, Rita Kimani of Kenya is the co-founder of FarmDrive, a social enterprise that connects unbanked and underserved smallholder farmers to credit. To date, FarmDrive works with over 3,000 farmers and is dedicated to financial inclusion.

“I grew up in rural Kenya where the people are dependent on farming. My mom was fending for a family of four, and I witnessed other families struggle to support themselves through agriculture, in part because there was a lack of financial inclusion.” Despite these challenges, the 28-year-old computer scientist has seen how sustainable agriculture can be a vehicle for inclusive economic growth and resolved to use her experiences to find solutions.

. Using mobile technology, FarmDrive’s platform enables farmers to track their productivity, expenses and revenues to create comprehensive credit portfolios enabling access to affordable financial services, as they are needed. As it stands, 3005 farmers are registered, and loans have been facilitated to 400 farmers.

Lutfi Fadil Lokman is a 31-year-old from Malaysia who founded and acts as the CEO of Hospitals Beyond Boundaries (HBB), a youth-led organization with a mission to build healthcare facilities serving underprivileged communities. HBB has trained and served more than 3,000 people in Malaysia and Cambodia.

After an accident that left him hospitalized, Lutfi decided to start doing what he had long dreamed of: the 31-year-old medical doctor founded Hospitals Beyond Boundaries, an organization committed to accessible health care through community-run clinics in Cambodia and Malaysia. “I am most proud of our clinic in Cambodia because we focus specifically on maternal and child health,” says Lutfi.

The healthcare facilities are uniquely run as social enterprises by the local youth population, trained and then employed as community health workers alongside doctors, nurses and health professionals. Since its establishment, Hospitals Beyond Boundaries has trained and served more than 3,000 people. “We believe that empowerment of the community, rather than charity, is the key to sustainability. We work with local NGOs, the Ministry of Health and local leaders to ensure that we make as much impact as possible.” Other than working directly with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), the clinic and hospital look at healthcare that lies beyond the hospital boundaries.

Carolina Medina is a 28-year-old from Colombia. Her passion is to make healthy food more affordable and accessible for everyone. Carolina co-founded and leads Agruppa, a start-up based in her country that leverages mobile phone technology to organize small businesses.

“I want to contribute to making my country more equitable for everyone,” a conviction which has led Carolina to co-found Agruppa, a start-up that utilizes mobile phones to economically empower small businesses and lower prices for fresh produce. Agruppa organizes small businesses into clusters, creating collective buying power so that they can benefit from economies of scale when ordering stock. This allows vendors to purchase fresher produce at better prices, saving money which can be passed on to the customer.

26-year-old Vincent Loka of Indonesia is one of the three founding partners of WateROAM, a social enterprise developing water filtration solutions that bring rapid access to clean drinking water in disaster-hit locations. One such solution is Fieldtrade Lite, a product that fits easily into a backpack and can filter dirty river water within minutes.

“We are committed to bringing clean water to people everywhere,” says Vincent, which is why he and two co-founders, all in their early twenties, launched WateROAM— a water innovation enterprise championing the vision of a world without prolonged thirst. WateROAM is developing water filtration solutions that bring about the quickest access to clean drinking water at disaster-hit locations, and helping to promote social change in rural areas. “I lead the engineering team to develop filtration systems that are simple, affordable, durable and portable,” says Vincent. “We realized that these four pillars are critical when it comes to getting water solutions to the people on the ground.” One of these solutions, otherwise known as Fieldtrade Lite, fits easily into a backpack and can filter dirty river water within minutes.

Shougat Nazbin Khan, a 27-year-old from Bangladesh, established H. A. Digital School & College, now serving 600 students from 50 underprivileged communities in Bangladesh with a focus on socio-economic empowerment of women.

The school has developed curricula that are responsive to rural realities and gender, including ICT and entrepreneurship training, health and environment training, adult literacy and services to end violence.

Now in its seventh academic year, more than 600 students from 50 villages are studying at the school, while 90% of the teaching staff are women. In addition to her work at the crossroads of women’s empowerment and access to a decent education, Shougat developed a low-cost solar PV irrigation system for farmers for which she won the prestigious Green Talent award in 2015.

Here’s the full list of the 169 Targets organized under the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exactly as defined by the United Nations:

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty.
1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures.
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources and access to basic services.
1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and reduce vulnerability to climate-related events.
1.a Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources.
1.b Create sound policy frameworks for pro-poor and gender-sensitive development.

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food year-round.
2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition.
2.3 By 2030, double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale producers.
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
2.5 By 2020, maintain genetic diversity of seeds, plants, and animals.
2.a Increase investment in rural infrastructure, agricultural research, and extension services.
2.b Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets.
2.c Adopt measures to ensure proper functioning of food commodity markets.

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

3.1 By 2030, reduce global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5.
3.3 By 2030, end epidemics of AIDS, TB, malaria, and NTDs and combat hepatitis and other diseases.
3.4 By 2030, reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third.
3.5 Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
3.6 By 2020, halve global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage.
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce deaths from hazardous chemicals and pollution.
3.a Strengthen implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
3.b Support R&D of vaccines and medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
3.c Substantially increase health financing and health workforce.
3.d Strengthen capacity for early warning and risk reduction for health risks.

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

4.1 By 2030, ensure all girls and boys complete free, equitable, quality primary and secondary education.
4.2 By 2030, ensure access to quality early childhood development and pre-primary education.
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education.
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase number of youth/adults with skills for employment.
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education.
4.6 By 2030, ensure all youth and most adults achieve literacy and numeracy.
4.7 By 2030, ensure learners acquire knowledge for sustainable development.
4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that are inclusive and safe.
4.b Expand scholarships for developing countries.
4.c Substantially increase supply of qualified teachers.

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls.
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
5.3 Eliminate harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and FGM.
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work.
5.5 Ensure women’s full participation and equal leadership.
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to resources.
5.b Enhance use of technology to promote women’s empowerment.
5.c Adopt and strengthen policies for gender equality.

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

6.1 By 2030, achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water.
6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene.
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution.
6.4 By 2030, increase water-use efficiency.
6.5 By 2030, implement integrated water resources management.
6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems.
6.a Expand international cooperation on water- and sanitation-related programs.
6.b Support local communities in improving water and sanitation management.

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to modern energy.
7.2 By 2030, substantially increase share of renewable energy.
7.3 By 2030, double rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
7.a Enhance international cooperation on clean energy research and technology.
7.b Expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for energy services.

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth.
8.2 Achieve higher levels of productivity.
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies supporting entrepreneurship.
8.4 Improve global resource efficiency in consumption and production.
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment for all.
8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce youth not in employment, education, or training.
8.7 Eradicate forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking.
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe working environments.
8.9 By 2030, promote sustainable tourism.
8.10 Strengthen domestic financial institutions.
8.a Increase Aid for Trade support.
8.b Develop a global youth employment strategy.

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable infrastructure.
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization.
9.3 Increase access of small-scale enterprises to financial services.
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to be sustainable.
9.5 Enhance scientific research and innovation.
9.a Facilitate sustainable infrastructure development for developing countries.
9.b Support domestic technology development and innovation.
9.c Significantly increase access to ICT and universal Internet.

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

10.1 By 2030, achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40%.
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote social, economic, and political inclusion.
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome.
10.4 Adopt fiscal, wage, and social protection policies.
10.5 Improve regulation of global financial markets.
10.6 Ensure enhanced representation for developing countries in global institutions.
10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular, and responsible migration.
10.a Implement principle of special treatment for developing countries.
10.b Encourage ODA and financial flows.
10.c Reduce transaction costs of migrant remittances.

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate housing.
11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, sustainable transport systems.
11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization.
11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect cultural and natural heritage.
11.5 By 2030, reduce deaths and economic losses from disasters.
11.6 By 2030, reduce environmental impact of cities.
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive green spaces.
11.a Support positive links between urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.
11.b Increase number of cities adopting integrated disaster risk management.
11.c Support least developed countries in building sustainable buildings.

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

12.1 Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP.
12.2 By 2030, achieve sustainable management and efficient use of resources.
12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste.
12.4 By 2020, achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation.
12.6 Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices.
12.7 Promote sustainable public procurement practices.
12.8 By 2030, ensure awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles.
12.a Support developing countries to strengthen scientific and technological capacity.
12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable tourism.
12.c Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies.

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies.
13.3 Improve education and awareness on climate change.
13.a Implement UNFCCC commitment of mobilizing $100 billion annually.
13.b Promote capacity-building in least developed countries.

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources

14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution.
14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems.
14.3 Minimize and address ocean acidification.
14.4 By 2020, end overfishing and implement science-based plans.
14.5 By 2020, conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas.
14.6 By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies.
14.7 By 2030, increase economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources.
14.a Increase scientific knowledge and transfer of marine technology.
14.b Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to resources.
14.c Enhance conservation through international law.

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems

15.1 By 2020, ensure conservation of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
15.2 By 2020, promote sustainable management of forests and halt deforestation.
15.3 By 2030, combat desertification and restore degraded land.
15.4 By 2030, ensure conservation of mountain ecosystems.
15.5 Take action to reduce degradation of natural habitats and biodiversity loss.
15.6 Promote fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources.
15.7 Take action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species.
15.8 Introduce measures to prevent invasive alien species.
15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem values into planning and accounts.
15.a Mobilize resources for biodiversity.
15.b Finance sustainable forest management.
15.c Support efforts to combat poaching.

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and strong institutions

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence.
16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence against children.
16.3 Promote rule of law and equal access to justice.
16.4 By 2030, reduce illicit financial and arms flows.
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery.
16.6 Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions.
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory decision-making.
16.8 Broaden participation of developing countries in institutions of global governance.
16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.
16.a Strengthen national institutions for prevention of violence.
16.b Promote non-discriminatory laws and policies.

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

17.1 Strengthen domestic resource mobilization.
17.2 Developed countries implement ODA commitments.
17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources.
17.4 Assist developing countries in attaining debt sustainability.
17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for LDCs.
17.6 Enhance access to science, technology, and innovation.
17.7 Promote development and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies.
17.8 Fully operationalize technology bank for LDCs.
17.9 Enhance international support for capacity-building.
17.10 Promote universal, rules-based multilateral trading system.
17.11 Significantly increase exports of developing countries.
17.12 Realize timely implementation of duty-free market access.
17.13 Enhance global macroeconomic stability.
17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development.
17.15 Respect each country’s policy space for poverty eradication.
17.16 Enhance global partnership for sustainable development.
17.17 Encourage public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building for data availability.
17.19 Build on initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse