The UN SDG Action Awards named two joint winners of the 2025 Changemaker Award: Congolese human-rights defender Julienne Lusenge and Jin Dawood, who founded Peace Therapist, a mental-health platform for displaced people.

Manuela Casper Claret announced the winners, and Sandrine Lusamba accepted on behalf of Julienne Lusenge, describing the award as recognition for work supporting survivors of conflict and sexual violence. Sandrine Lusamba said an individual beneficiary, "Sifa," who began training as a nurse after working with Lusenge's organization, exemplifies the award's impact: "This award today is for Sifa and is for other girls and women in the DRC," Lusamba said onstage.

Jin Dawood, who was awarded for creating mental-health support for forcibly displaced communities, described her personal journey from fleeing the Syrian war to founding Peace Therapist. Onstage, Dawood said the program now "reach[es] more than 70,000 person across 26 countries" and provides therapy in Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish and English, offering free services to refugees and disadvantaged groups.

The joint award highlights both frontline protection work and mental-health support for conflict-affected and displaced populations. Winners and their representatives framed the recognition as both an honor and a call to continue supporting survivors and refugees.