On Monday, October 6, 2025, hundreds of leaders came to the Waldorf Astoria New York for the 30th anniversary Hilton Humanitarian Prize honoring Hilton Prize Laureates and the 2025 Prize recipient, Mines Advisory Group.
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation leadership, including Board Chair Linda Hilton, President and CEO Peter Laugharn, and Senior Director of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Maggie Miller, opened the evening with remarks reflecting on the importance of humanitarian work today. “Improving the human condition is our shared responsibility. That was a bold vision in 1944, when the Hilton Foundation was created. That was a bold vision in 1995, when the Prize was started. And in a world today that too often prioritizes individualism and isolationism, it remains a bold and urgent vision,” Laugharn said.
The program began with a panel discussion entitled “Three Decades of Impact: A Discussion with Hilton Prize Laureates.” The panel was moderated by Raj Kumar, president and editor-in-chief, Devex, in discussion with Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO, Amref Health Africa (1999 Prize Laureate), Shameran Abed, Executive Director, BRAC International (2008 Prize Laureate), and Angeline Murimirwa, CEO, CAMFED (2021 Prize Laureate). Kumar prompted the conversation by making the observation, “[This] is a very challenging moment, but humanitarian organizations are used to crisis. That’s what you were designed for.”
Following the panel, David Miliband, president and CEO, International Rescue Committee (1997 Prize Laureate) delivered remarks emphasizing the need for unity and compassion during times of conflict and crisis: “For all of our differences, our tribe is the human tribe. And if you’re in pain, whatever your race or religion, or nationality or ethnicity, then your pain is my problem. Your suffering is my suffering. That is the essence of the humanitarian credo.”
The evening’s emcee—CEO, Journalist, Producer and Philanthropist Soledad O’Brien—then moderated a panel discussion entitled “The Power of Prizes: A Discussion with Hilton Prize Jurors” with Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, and former President of Mexico, Zainab Salbi, founder, Women for Women International (2006 Prize Laureate) and co-founder, Daughters for Earth, Her Majesty Queen Noor, international public servant, and Kennedy Odede, founder and CEO, SHOFCO (2018 Prize Laureate). Dr. Zedillo noted, “Nowadays, it’s even more important, not only to look at the direct impact that the work of these awardees have, but also at the example that they provide for the rest of us.”
Linda Hilton then opened the Prize Ceremony honoring the 2025 Hilton Humanitarian Prize recipient, Mines Advisory Group, by introducing Nicky Hilton Rothschild who presented the award. In his acceptance remarks, Mines Advisory Group’s Chief Executive Darren Cormack said: “Too often, we are in a desperate race to find a landmine before a child does. [This Prize] will help us run this race faster.”
Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Actor and Mines Advisory Group Ambassador Rosamund Pike then took the stage with Janete Milichi, Mines Advisory Group deminer team leader in Angola, underlining the vital, critical work of the organization: “I have seen that dedication and commitment firsthand, and I have also seen that this work can be finite. MAG and its teams fight years after armies have left and soldiers have moved on, trying to avoid other unnecessary deaths. For isn’t an explosion in peacetime especially tragic?”
The evening ended with a special musical performance by Five-time Grammy Award Winner and UNICEF Ambassador Angélique Kidjo.
The playlist below contains recordings from the event. The icon in the upper-right of the video player lists available videos.