Oxford, England, April 3, 2025 — Pacto pela Democracia received international recognition on Thursday afternoon (April 3) when it was presented with the prestigious 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation by the Skoll Foundation. The award honors organizations that drive transformative social change and contribute to a more sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous society.

The awards ceremony took place at the New Theatre in Oxford, United Kingdom, bringing together leaders from around the world. In addition to Pacto pela Democracia, Healthy Learners, EarthEnable, Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H), and the Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC) were also honored for their significant impact in their respective fields.

Pacto pela Democracia received the award for its work coordinating a broad pro-democracy coalition in Brazil, countering authoritarian threats, building trust in institutions, and defending the rule of law. According to the Skoll Foundation, “Pacto’s work has been vital as growing autocratic threats, disinformation campaigns, and election-related violence test the resilience of democratic institutions. These efforts enabled the coalition to successfully protect Brazil’s 2022 electoral process and its results by coordinating and implementing more than 80 collaborative actions to monitor and respond to election-related threats.”

In her acceptance speech, Flávia Pellegrino, Executive Director of Pacto pela Democracia, emphasized the importance of collective action in safeguarding the integrity of democracy in Brazil and around the world:

“One of the reasons I am so happy and proud to be here is that I know I am not alone. Throughout the past few years, while building such a broad and nonpartisan coalition in Brazil, I have never been alone. And we in Brazil are not alone as we face this moment of profound challenges. In so many countries around the world, we are facing the greatest challenge of our generation: fighting for democracy.”

Recognition through the 2025 Skoll Awards reinforces the importance of the work carried out by Pacto pela Democracia and all the organizations that work tirelessly to defend the democratic system. This award symbolizes the resilience and strength of Brazilian civil society in its struggle to preserve fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. “Staying united is the most powerful thing we have,” Flávia concluded in her speech.