Nigerian NGO Boys Champions has won $30,000 as a runner-up in the inaugural Pankaj Award to End Conflict, recognising its efforts to prevent gender-based violence and promote peaceful, gender-equal communities.
A Nigerian non-governmental organisation, Boys Champions, has won $30,000 as a runner-up in the inaugural Pankaj Award to End Conflict for its efforts to prevent gender-based violence and promote peaceful, gender-equal communities.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Mr Noel Ifeanyi Alumona, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday.
The Pankaj Award to End Conflict, established by Prof. Selva Pankaj and Dr Tharshiny Pankaj, is a $250,000 funding initiative by Regent Global designed to support young leaders addressing the root causes of conflict.
The inaugural edition provides financial support to all 10 finalists, with the overall winner receiving $100,000.
Alumona said the award, presented by Regent Global in partnership with One Young World, was announced at the One Young World Summit 2026, holding in Cape Town, South Africa.
The summit, which runs from November 3 to November 6, has brought together more than 2,200 young leaders from over 190 countries to exchange ideas and develop solutions to global challenges.
“Boys Champions was represented at the summit by its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Noel Ifeanyi Alumona, who was among 10 international finalists recognised for their contributions to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and the protection of marginalised communities,” he said.
According to Alumona, the organisation received recognition for its approach to preventing violence by shaping the values, attitudes and behaviours of boys and young men.
He disclosed that since its establishment in 2018, Boys Champions had reached more than 20,000 boys across Nigeria through programmes promoting gender equality, positive masculinity and violence prevention.
Alumona, a United Nations award winner, said the recognition was a collective achievement involving the organisation’s team, partners, supporters and communities that had continued to support its peacebuilding initiatives.
He stressed that preventing violence required more than responding to incidents after they occurred, emphasising the need to invest in boys and young men while challenging harmful social norms.
According to him, the organisation believes that boys and young men have important roles to play in building safer and more equal communities.
He said the $30,000 prize money would support the expansion of its violence prevention and positive masculinity programmes, strengthen community engagement and enable the organisation to reach more young people.
Alumona added that the recognition had positioned Nigerian-led violence prevention initiatives within the broader international conversation on youth participation and community-based peacebuilding. He appreciated Regent Global and One Young World for recognising and supporting young peacebuilders.
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