During the announcement of the category for International Activist, presenter James Kavanagh shared, “While it is important to recognise the efforts of those in Ireland towards creating a society where we often take our status for granted, we must not forget that in countries across the world there are LGBT+ activists fighting for the most basic human rights, often in the face of great hostility and personal danger. We recognise the efforts of those courageous LGBT+ people in the fight against demonisation, oppression, isolation, imprisonment, torture and murder.”
Co-presenter Anne Doyle added, “Three major human rights organisations, Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Front Line Defenders come together each year with the National LGBT+ Federation to create a bursary of €2,000 for an international activist to help continue their good fight.”