Indian actor, content creator and activist Prajakta Koli has been named to the High-Level Panel of Judges for the 2026 Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards. With the appointment, she became the first Indian to join the global awards program’s judging panel.
Prajakta is the only Indian member of this year’s jury, which will assess more than 5,000 entries submitted from 190 countries. The awards are powered by the UN SDG Action Campaign and hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
She will serve alongside an international jury featuring UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo, and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier, Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar and Cannes Best Actress winner Merve Dizdar.
Key Highlights:
- Prajakta becomes the first Indian to join the 2026 UN SDG Action Awards judging panel
- She will assess over 5,000 entries from 190 countries alongside global leaders and experts
- The 2026 awards will recognize work in Change maker, Creativity and Resilience categories
The appointment adds to Prajakta's ongoing ability to cross over digital content and mainstream entertainment and climate advocacy. She is the host of Netflix's Indian romantic comedy, Mismatched and has been seen in another streaming platform war drama, Operation Safed Sagar. She is also a part of Time's inaugural 'TIME100 Creators' list and UNDP India's Youth Climate Champion.
As such, Prajakta has spoken from the youth perspective at international events such as COP28, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week NYC.
On her appointment, Prajakta said: “I have always believed in the power of storytelling, creativity and young people taking charge. In a world facing so many big challenges, progress starts with people.”
Now in its 9th year, the Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards celebrate work in three areas: Change maker, Creativity and Resilience. The 9 global finalists will then head to Rome, Italy, for a high-level coaching and capacity building program before the awards ceremony on 29th October, 2026.
The ceremony will be live on UN WebTV and it will be broadcasted on the national television of Italy (RAI). The awards are created in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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