Badr Jafar honoured at UN General Assembly for leadership in business and philanthropy

The United Nations honoured Badr Jafar, the UAE's Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy, at the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly. The award, the Changemakers Award, was presented by the Global Partnerships Forum in collaboration with the Kingdom of Tonga's Permanent Mission to the UN. UN Ambassador Amir Dossal commended Jafar for his leadership in driving change through business, philanthropy, and partnerships to advance sustainable and inclusive development.

Jafar, accepting the award, emphasized that meaningful change cannot be achieved by a single individual or sector. Rather, it requires an interconnected ecosystem where governments set the framework, businesses build and scale solutions, and philanthropy takes risks and sustains efforts over time. Appointed by the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Jafar's role involves mobilising business and philanthropic stakeholders to support the UAE's diplomatic and strategic goals.

This included convening meetings on water sector investment ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, strategic philanthropy for the African Union's Agenda 2063, and AI-driven inclusive growth. Jafar's UN involvement began in 2010, when he co-founded the Pearl Initiative with the UN Office for Partnerships to promote corporate governance across the Gulf region.

The ceremony also recognised Timor-Leste's President José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Dr. Ann Aerts and Dr. Srgjan Kerim, both affiliated with the Novartis Foundation and the UN General Assembly.