Finalists of the fifth Adamowicz Award shortlisted

The Jury of the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award for freedom, solidarity and equality met on 8 December 2025 to decide on the laureate of the Fifth edition of the Award.

The shortlist, in alphabetical order, includes:

• Mary Crilly, the founder and director of the Sexual Violence Centre, in Cork, Ireland;
• Alexei Gorinov, a Russian human rights defender, opposition politician, former member of the Krasnoselsky district municipal council in Moscow, and a member of the Solidarnost movement;
• Ekrem İmamoğlu, elected Mayor of Istanbul and President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye;
• Pinar Selek, a Turkish sociologist and Human Rights activist;
• Tiro Association for Arts, a pioneering cultural institution in Lebanon.

The laureate will be announced during the proclamation ceremony in Gdańsk, Poland, on 13 January 2026, as part of the commemorations for Mayor Paweł Adamowicz, who was assassinated on 13 January 2019.

Brief summaries of nominations of the shortlisted candidates:

Mary Crilly, the founder and director of the Sexual Violence Centre, in Cork, Ireland. When she founded the Cork Rape Crisis Centre in 1983, the conservatism of the times was such that its office was raided by the Garda Special Branch. She showed extraordinary resilience facing these challenges and for over 40 years continued helping victims of sexual violence. Her tireless campaigning for policy and legislative change in the fields of sexual violence, sex trafficking, domestic violence, and human rights, in partnership, among others, with Cork Against Human Trafficking, has driven societal change in the way that sexual violence is now dealt with in Ireland. In June 2022 she was awarded the Freedom of the City, by Cork City Council.

Alexei Gorinov, a Russian human rights defender, opposition politician, former member of the Krasnoselsky district municipal council in Moscow, and a member of the Solidarnost movement. For many years, he defended people facing human rights violations in Russia; today, he himself is a political prisoner, prosecuted for his public condemnation of the war against Ukraine and his expression of solidarity with its victims. Gorinov suffers from a chronic respiratory illness and has lost a part of his left lung following surgery. He is held in degrading prison conditions, amounting to inhuman treatment.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, elected Mayor of Istanbul and President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, who was arrested and removed from office on 19 March 2025 with over 100 municipal officials on politically motivated charges. His leadership is characterized by reaching across political, ethnic, and religious divides to promote unity and dignity. He has transformed Istanbul into a model of citizen-centered governance. His administration introduced transparent budgeting, digital participation tools, gender equality programs, and climate-friendly policies. These efforts have redefined local democracy as a practice of solidarity and fairness. Ekrem İmamoğlu has become a symbol of courage, integrity, and democratic renewal in Türkiye and beyond.

Pinar Selek, a Turkish sociologist and Human Rights activist. For 36 years she has defended women, LGBTQ+ individuals, refugees and ethnic minorities (esp. Armenian and Kurdish). She exposed systemic injustices, leading to political repression and repeated legal persecution. Despite persecution, imprisonment and exile, she continues to advocate for non-violence, democratic values and social justice. Her activism includes organizing large-scale media and artistic campaigns for peace, with a strong feminist and anti-militarist perspective. Now based in France, she remains a powerful voice for freedom and inclusion.

Tiro Association for Arts is a pioneering cultural institution in Lebanon, founded in 2014. Established with the goal of decentralising culture and ensuring that art is available to all, particularly in underprivileged and marginalized communities including youth, refugees, and individuals with disabilities. Tiro has restored shuttered theaters in Tyre and Tripoli, transforming them into public cultural venues known as the Lebanese National Theaters. These areas are now centers of discussion, creative learning, and freedom of speech. Tiro Association actively advocates for women's empowerment via the arts. Its Art and Peace Bus brings art to isolated villages, refugee camps, and conflict-affected areas.

Background information :

The Jury of the Fifth edition was composed of:

• Magali Altounian (FR/renew E), chair of the CIVEX commission, European Committee of the Regions
• Aleksandra Dulkiewicz (PL/EPP) mayor of the city of Gdańsk and member of the CoR
• Annika Strömberg, chair of ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network)
• Magdalena Adamowicz, MEP, widow of Paweł Adamowicz
• Jelena Drenjanin (SE/EPP), Chair of the Governance Committee, Congress of local and regional authorities, Council of Europe and member of the CoR
• Javier Zarzalejos (ES/EPP), chair of the LIBE Committee, European Parliament
• Vitaliy Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, laureate of the previous edition

The Evaluation Committee of the Fifth edition, shortlisting the candidates, was composed of representatives of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the city of Gdansk, the International cities of refuge network (ICORN), Eurocities, United cities and local governments (UCLG), the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM), the Association of Local Democracy agencies (ALDA) and the Assembly of European Regions (AER).