Judge Vladislava Tsarigradska is Human of the Year 2024

The human rights community welcomed the announcement of the Human of the Year Award 2024 winner - Judge Vladislava Tsarigradska - with long applause and standing on their feet.

"Her personality is of utmost importance so that we can all still have the hope that the rule of law has its place here," said Adela Kachaunova, co-chair of the BHC and chair of the jury of the "Human of the Year".

"I accept the award with gratitude on behalf of all my colleagues, all the judges who have not allowed the pillar of Bulgarian justice to be broken," Tsarigradska said in her speech. "Many Bulgarian judges are ready to carry and bear the responsibility of the judiciary to be guarantors of justice and rights, including of the most vulnerable. I deal with the mafia and prosecutors general under necessity, my professional resposibility and passion is the protection of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups," she said. Her full statement can be seen on the ceremony recording, available on the campaign's social media page.

This year, the jury honoured eleven individuals and organizations with eight special awards, two equal runner-up awards and the grand award "Human of the Year". Photos of all the winners can be seen on the following link. The official photographer of the event was Boryana Pandova.

The winners of the sub-award were the teachers and scientists who signed against the changes in the Pre-school and School Education Act. "I am proud to stand before you to say that these teachers have given us great hope," said Victoria Biserova, a university professor and representative of the honorees.

The other runner-up award went to the Mission Wings Foundation for their investigations into cases of forced repulsion of asylum seekers and multiple cases of migrant deaths. Diana Dimova, President of the Foundation, dedicated the award to the refugees who have lost their lives in search of safety. "As a social worker, I never imagined that I would have to organise some of the most tragic moments in a family's life - burying their child or sending the body there," she said.

Here's the list of honorees:

The Grand Prize - Judge Vladislava Tsarigradska - nominated and awarded for her active work to expose the unregulated relationships and dependencies in the judiciary and for her sustainable work in support of human rights and the rule of law in Bulgaria.

Runner-up award - Teachers and scientists who signed against the changes in the Pre-school and School Education Act - awarded for their active position against the changes that stigmatise LGBTI people and in defence of the right to freedom of expression and non-discrimination within the educational process.

Runner-up - Diana Dimova and Mission Wings Foundation - awarded for their investigations of cases of forced repulsion of asylum seekers and numerous cases of dead migrants whose bodies were abandoned in the forests of Strandzha mountain, as well as for their sustainable humanitarian work in support of people from vulnerable groups in Stara Zagora city and the whole region.

Special Award "Knight of Truth" - Anti-Corruption Fund - awarded for exposing the prosecution's actions and inactions in the "Eight Dwarfs" investigation and for their longstanding work in shining a light on large-scale corruption and advocating for the rule of law.

Special Award "Advocate of the Year" - Toma Belev - awarded for his investigation on water resources management, which for the first time collected and summarized data on the scale of violations of access to drinking water in Bulgaria.

Special Award "Activist of the Year" - Maya Doneva - awarded for her campaign "Be disappointing", with which she shines a light on the practice of paying men and women differently for the same work, and motivates women to defend their right to equal pay.

Special Award  "Journalist of the Year" - Venelina Popova - awarded for exposing electoral abuses by the mayor of Galabovo municipality and for her systematic journalistic work in defending human rights and the rule of law.

Special Award "Even alone the warrior is still a warrior" - Dimitar Ploshtakov - awarded for his methodical collection of information to prove that the official data on the purity of the air deliberately does not reflect its objective state, which is the cause of more than 10 thousand deaths a year.

Special Award "Persistance and Courage" - Kalin Angelov - honoured for his unrelenting fight for the right of Bulgarian patients to access medical cannabis, as well as for his hard volunteer work to protect the rights of those wrongfully prosecuted for marijuana use.

Special Award "Digital Enlightener" - Mimi Shishkova - awarded for her active work to promote democratic values and the characteristics of the rule of law.

Special Award "Inspiration" - Dimitrinka Georgieva - awarded for her efforts to desegregate schools in the municipality of Varna and her sustainable work for access to quality education for children from the Roma neighbourhood in Varna. She was awarded the following prizes.

The Human of the Year 2024 campaign received more than 120 proposals nominees.

After careful selection, the finalists in this year's Human of the Year campaign are 47. You can see all the finalists with the reasons for their nomination on the campaign page.

The winners were selected by a jury composed of:

Adela Kachaunova - BHC Co-Chair and Chair of the Jury

Monika Marinova - representative of the winners of the Human of the Year 2023 award

Georgi Bogdanov - Executive Director of the National Network for Children

Maria Cheresheva - President of the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria

Denitsa Lyubenova - President of the LGBTI organization "Action"

Petko Petkov - Judge

Yulia Georgieva - President of the Center for Humane Policies

Teodora Krumova - Program Director at the Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe

Hristo Panchev - climate activist, coordinator of Greenpeace Ukraine's Green Recovery Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe

Nadezhda Tsekulova - BHC Campaigns and Communications Program Director