Call For Candidates

The Netherlands Embassy in Maputo has been advocating for Human Rights issues through its specific thematic support on Food & Nutrition Security (FNS), Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Water and Sanitation (WASH) programs. Also, in all transversal areas such as gender, climate change and youth, human rights is always taken as a cornerstone in the activities.

This year 2024, the Embassy will award for the second time, a prize to a young local human rights defender or a young civil society organization for the work and their unwavering commitment in promoting and defending  human rights in Mozambique.

The prize is meant to stimulate human rights advocacy, research and to promote the protection of human rights in Mozambique, in particular the work of the prize winner. It also aims to support and strengthen the civil society network, increase awareness and appreciation of the work of human rights defenders by the general public.

In Mozambique, Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and Human Rights Defenders play a crucial role not only by granting access to human rights to the people, but also, by protecting and promoting these when necessary, especially to the ones most vulnerable such as young girls, women and youth.

Nomination criteria

The candidate should have the Mozambican nationality, be between the age of 18 and 35, reside and be based in the country. He/ She can work for a CSO, private company or independently.  The organizations should be Mozambican and with less than five years of existence. And, most important, the person or organization should have a relevant work related to the protection of Human Rights.

One can either nominate a person or an organization, but  can also auto nominate him/ herself or organization. The candidate should have never received a prize on human rights.

The winner will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Impact: having a real impact in the field he/she is active in, either in terms of raised awareness, successful lobbying, or other demonstrable impact.
• Courage: showing personal courage and leadership through the work he/she does.
• Creativity and innovation: using creative ideas and coming up with his/her own initiatives and innovative approaches to further his/her cause.
• Need: the ideal candidate does not already have a high profile and does not receive (large amounts of) funds or other support from international donors or the Mozambican government. Thus, the recognition and financial support from the Embassy Tulip Award would make a real difference for the winner. 
• Sensitivity: the choice for a candidate should not impact negatively on the individual selected.
• Thematic focus: the work of the candidates has to be linked to one of the six human rights priorities of the Netherlands, being freedom of expression and internet, freedom of religion and belief, equal rights for LGBTI-persons, human rights defenders and civic space, tackling impunity for serious crimes, equal rights for women and girls (including SRHR).

Selection procedure

The nomination period for candidates opens  from 21 May up to 21 of June 2024.The nomination should be substantiated bearing in mind the selection criteria. Nominations received after 21 June 2024 will not be considered.

After the nomination, a jury composed of five experts on human rights in Mozambique will select the winning candidate in July, upon which Mrs. Elsbeth Akkerman,  Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will announce the final choice in September.

Prize

The Embassy Tulip Award prize will be offered during an award ceremony. The prize will be amongst others consist of a financial contribution of 10,000 EUR to the work of the winner, so that the winner can continue and strengthen his/her impact. The first two runners-up will be invited to the event and receive a  Certificate of Honor. The work of the best three candidates will be presented during the award ceremony.

How to apply
If you know (or you are) a human rights defender/organization that meets the criteria, submit a nomination by sending an e-mail to map@minbuza.nl . The title should be “ Application Tulip Award”, and it should contain contact details of the nominated person/organization and a short motivation letter (maximum 2 pages) or a video explaining why the person/ organization should be rewarded.

The deadline for nominations is 21 June 2024, 23:00 hours.  In case  Mozambique is selected by the central office in the Hague, the winner may also be participating in the international Tulip Award Ceremony in The Hague on/around 10^th  December during the Human Rights Day Celebration.


Please do not hesitate to reach out to us in case of any questions about the prize and the process through map@minbuza.nl