STOCKHOLM — The Right Livelihood Foundation on Wednesday named four 2026 laureates, pairing a Georgian legal group that has weathered an autocratic crackdown with an Ethiopian-born AI researcher, a Pakistani human rights lawyer and a Southern African farmers’ network that organizers say now spans more than 178,000 members.
The so-called “Alternative Nobel” picks arrive at 6 a.m. Stockholm time and cap a selection cycle that foundation officials said considered 200 nominees from 72 countries. Laureates receive a cash award and global visibility; this year’s class will be honored at a televised presentation in Stockholm on Dec. 1.
Georgia’s legal watchdog
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), founded in 1994, becomes the first Right Livelihood laureate from Georgia. The jury cited the group’s work “building and safeguarding Georgian democracy and sustaining civic power in the face of an autocratic crackdown.”
GYLA leaders held an online press conference at 10 a.m. Central European Summer Time, one of four scheduled briefings for the laureates on Wednesday. The association has operated through contested elections and street protests as the ruling Georgian Dream party tightened controls on civil society and delayed European Union accession talks.
Land, seed and bodily autonomy
The Rural Women’s Assembly, which links small-scale farmers across 11 Southern African countries, was recognized for turning rural women into a coordinated force defending land rights, seed sovereignty and bodily autonomy against corporate and patriarchal pressure.
Foundation language describes the assembly as a “united force” against dispossession. Members have used collective bargaining and cross-border solidarity to resist mining concessions and industrial agriculture projects that organizers say bypass local consent.
Lawyer from Pakistan’s Hazara community
Jalila Haider, described as the first female lawyer from Pakistan’s persecuted Hazara community, received the award for legal aid and street activism on behalf of marginalized groups. The citation praises her for challenging ethnic violence, state repression and patriarchal norms “guided by the conviction that no human being is illegal.”
Haider is scheduled to speak to reporters at 2 p.m. CEST. She has represented families of victims of targeted killings and pushed courts to recognize discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities.
AI power and bias
Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute and a former Google researcher, was honored for “challenging concentrated power in artificial intelligence and pioneering digital technology rooted in justice, lived experience and human agency.” Her briefing is set for 6 p.m. CEST.
Gebru’s work on dataset bias and corporate AI governance has influenced regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. The foundation framed her prize as a counterweight to unchecked deployment of large models in policing, hiring and credit scoring.
What happens next
Right Livelihood has presented the award for 45 years and counts 207 past laureates from 82 countries, including Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matviichuk and American lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Foundation staff said Wednesday’s announcements open months of advocacy support for the new class ahead of the December ceremony.
Public nominations for future cycles remain open year-round through the foundation’s website, with jurors conducting independent research before the annual reveal.