CAEN, FRANCE, 19 May. - (ANA) - 18,708 young people from 75 countries have just chosen Matiullah Wesa as the laureate of the eighth edition of the Freedom Prize, in recognition of his fight for education for all in Afghanistan. The global youth vote took place from March 20 to April 30, 2026. The two other nominees were Nemonte Nenquimo and China Labor Watch.

 

The 2026 Freedom Prize ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 4 at 2 p.m. at the Zénith in Caen, in the presence of more than 4,000 young people and thirty veterans of the D‑Day landings and the Second World War.

 

Matiullah Wesa grew up in a rural province of Afghanistan where access to education is particularly restricted for girls. At age 17, he founded PenPath, a collective of 3,000 volunteers raising awareness about the importance of education for all. Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, he has witnessed a deterioration of human rights in his country.

 

Arbitrarily arrested in March 2023, he was detained for seven months by the Taliban because of his activism. Matiullah Wesa takes concrete action by creating schools in the most remote villages and by working to change mindsets through public awareness of the importance of girls’ education. Today, he continues his fight in Afghanistan.

 

China Labor Watch is a New York–based NGO founded in 2000 by activist Li Qiang to defend the rights of Chinese workers. It emerged at a time when China was becoming a low‑cost production hub for many international brands. With rapid industrialization and globalized production, the situation has since worsened significantly. Dangerous working conditions, child labor, and restrictions on union freedom: human rights violations are widespread in Chinese factories. China Labor Watch investigates these abuses to inform the media and the international community. It pressures major global brands, particularly to ensure that fast fashion is no longer synonymous with inhumane and degrading working conditions.  

 

 

 

 

Created and supported by the Normandy Region in partnership with the International Institute for Human Rights and Peace, the Academic Authorities, and the Canopé network, the Freedom Prize is an educational program raising awareness about freedom, peace, and human rights, rooted in the values of the June 6, 1944 D‑Day landings in Normandy. It invites young people aged 15 to 25 in France and around the world to select each year a person or organization engaged in a recent and exemplary fight for freedom. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/19 May 2026 - - -