United Nations Selects Indigenous Social Worker from Canada, Kenyan Social Entrepreneur to Be Awarded 2025 UN Mandela Prize
The laureates of the 2025 United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize are Brenda Reynolds, a social worker of Saulteaux heritage supporting the health and well-being of Indigenous communities in Canada, and Kennedy Odede, founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities, a Kenyan grassroots organization providing services to urban slums.
Secretary-General António Guterres will award the honorary prizes, alongside the President of the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang, as part of the annual commemoration marking Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July under the theme of “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality”.
“As the United Nations celebrates 80 years, Nelson Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation and transformation continues to inspire and drive us,” Secretary-General António Guterres said. “This year’s Mandela prize winners embody the spirit of unity and possibility — reminding us how we all have the power to shape stronger communities and a better world.”
General Assembly President Philemon Yang, who chaired the 2025 Selection Committee, said: “The 2025 UN Nelson Mandela Prize not only honours the legacy of Madiba, but affirms that the spirit of multilateralism lives through the tireless efforts of its laureates — two individuals whose lives reflect the courage to lead, the humility to serve, and the vision to unite across borders.”
The winners were selected from 331 nominations received for candidates in 66 Member States.
Ms. Reynolds is a Status Treaty member of the Fishing Lake Saulteaux First Nation, in Saskatchewan, Canada. She is known for her development of the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support programme under the Indian Residential Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“I speak two languages, yet words fail to express my deep gratitude and surprise at receiving the UN Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize. I am truly humbled. Mandela, a figure I’ve long admired for his work in reconciliation and against apartheid, recognized the parallels between his homeland and the struggles of Indigenous peoples. I have always felt a deep kinship with him,” said Ms. Reynolds upon learning she was one of the two 2025 Laureates.
Mr. Odede is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SHOFCO. He had been a street-child at the age of 10 and lived in the Kibera Slum for 23 years. Today, SHOFCO impacts more than 2.5 million people each year in Kenya by organizing and strengthening community groups across 68 sites and fostering partnerships to deliver essential services to support them. Kennedy/SHOFCO were also recognized with the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour award in 2021.
“I am so humbled. This award is not about me — it is about the power of communities, and the trust put in local leadership,” said Mr. Odede. “Nelson Mandela taught us that dignity and justice begin from the ground up. This recognition affirms what we believe at SHOFCO: the answers to poverty and inequality already exist within the people most affected.”
The winner’s bios are included in this press release.
At the July ceremony, the winners will receive a glass trophy engraved with a quote from Nelson Mandela: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
Selection Committee
In accordance with Article 4 (1) of the Statute, the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize recipients are selected by a selection committee. In 2025, the Committee was comprised of:
- Chair of the Committee
Philemon Yang, President of United Nations General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session; - African Group
Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations; - Asia-Pacific Group
Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, Permanent Representative of Bahrain to the United Nations; - Eastern European Group
Krzysztof Maria Szczerski, Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations; - Latin American and Caribbean Group
Mutryce Agatha Williams, Permanent Representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations; - Western European Group and other States
Elina Kalkku, Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations; and - Ex-officio member of the Committee
Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations.
In accordance with Article 4 (2) of the Statute, the following four Eminent Individuals were selected to serve as honorary members of the Committee in an advisory capacity:
- Marcella A. Liburd, Governor General of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis;
- Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland;
- Mohamed Mostafa ElBaradei, Nobel Laureate, former Vice President of Egypt and Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and
- Elżbieta Mikos-Skuza, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Warsaw.
The UN Department of Global Communications served as the Secretariat of the Committee.
Background on the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize:
The United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize is an honorary award established by General Assembly resolution 68/275 of 6 June 2014. Its statute was approved by General Assembly resolution 69/269 of 2 April 2015. The Prize is presented once every five years as a tribute to the outstanding achievements and contributions of two individuals, one female and one male Laureate, who shall not be selected from the same geographic region.
Please visit www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/prize.
For more information on the Laureates of the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize: www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/laureates.
To watch the live webcast of the General Assembly ceremony starting on 18 July please visit webtv.un.org/.
For further information, photos, videos and other resources: www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/laureates.
Media Contacts
UN Department of Global Communications as the Mandela Prize Secretariat: Paulina Greer kubiakp@un.org.
Brenda Reynolds
Brenda Reynolds, a Status Treaty member of the Fishing Lake Saulteaux First Nation, Saskatchewan, brings a lifetime of lived experience, advocacy and professional leadership to the forefront of Indigenous health, mental wellness and reconciliation efforts in Canada and internationally. Her personal journey — from impacts of cultural genocide to a nationally recognized leader in trauma-informed care — has shaped her deep commitment to addressing the intergenerational impacts of the Indian Residential School system and government assimilation policies.
A social worker, Brenda has varied work experiences with First Nation community work, provincial and federal governments. She played a pivotal role in the largest to date court-ordered Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Her leadership helped establish the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program — a national, culturally grounded mental health initiative. The Resolution Health Support workers became the first trauma responders to the Indian residential school survivors, their families and Canadians. This programme is still funded and active today, noted for its contributions to healing and post-traumatic growth.
In 1988, Brenda worked and supported 17 teen girls who disclosed sexual abuse at Gordon’s Residential School by a staff member. This was the first court case of sexual abuse by an Indian residential school staff member in Saskatchewan. The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission later stated that the Gordon’s Indian Residential School has become known as one of the “worst run schools in the entire residential school system”.
Brenda later worked as a special adviser to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where she coordinated survivor support at national events and advised Commissioners on trauma response. Her ability to mediate, de-escalate and lead with compassion earned the praise of law enforcement and event organizers alike.
Brenda’s expertise is sought globally. In 2023, she was invited by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to share her insights on trauma and cultural genocide. Her doctoral studies in clinical psychology focus on trauma interventions for cultural genocide, further contributing to global academic understanding.
Brenda continues to provide consultation and training across Canada and internationally, bringing clarity and compassion to complex conversations on trauma, reconciliation and healing. She currently resides in Alberta, Canada.
Kennedy Odede
Kennedy Odede is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SHOFCO, Kenya’s largest grassroots movement, and one of Africa’s most esteemed social entrepreneurs and community organizers. He is best known for his award-winning work to transform the lives of slum residents and direct resources and decision-making power to local community organizations.
Kennedy became a street child at the age of 10 and lived in the Kibera Slum for 23 years. During this time, he experienced extreme poverty first-hand, but also witnessed the palpable hope that persists in slums and recognized that people sought something different for themselves, their families and their communities. Through earning $1 for 10 hours of work at a factory, Kennedy managed to save 20 cents to buy a soccer ball, which he used to bring community members together, and, with that, SHOFCO was born.
Today, SHOFCO impacts more than 2.4 million people each year in Kenya by organizing and strengthening community groups across 68 sites and fostering partnerships to deliver essential services to support them.
In 2024, Kennedy was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. In addition, he has been appointed by administrator Samantha Power to the USAID Advisory Committee and has served as a Fellow with Humanity in Action, Aspen Institute and Echoing Green. Kennedy is also a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, an Obama Foundation Africa Leader and a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Prior to this, he served on the United Nations International Commission for Financing of Global Education Opportunities, and on the Board of Directors of Wesleyan University.
Kennedy is the co-author of the New York Times Best Seller, Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum, which he wrote with his wife, Jessica Posner Odede. His work has been featured by President Bill Clinton, and on multiple occasions by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times.
Kennedy holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wesleyan University in the United States.