In 2017, the Global Citizen Award honored Monique Morrow: humanitarian, technological pioneer, and co-founder of The Humanized Internet. The Humanized Internet project focuses on the 1.1 billion individuals, of which 230 million are children under the age of five who have lost their legal identity as a result of involuntary displacement or who have been denied an identity and rendered stateless by their governments. Without government-issued documentation, these individuals are invisibilized and excluded from society and its institutions, which makes them especially vulnerable to human trafficking and abuse. Morrow’s organization works tirelessly to empower these dispossessed groups with a virtual identity — a digital set of their marriage, birth, education, health care, and other essential records — that they can access any time, through any mobile device. This ground-breaking approach shifts identity-ownership away from NGOs and other intermediaries and into the hands of the refugees or asylum-seekers themselves. “Monique Morrow’s remarkable work at the intersection of technology and human rights makes her an exceptionally worthy recipient of this year’s award,” says Paola de Leo, Head of Group Philanthropy at Henley & Partners. “The Humanized Internet is a demonstration of how the incredible advances and innovations in technology today can be used to improve the plight of the world’s most vulnerable people. Morrow is paving the way for more open and sustainable systems of governance and identity, and she deserves this year’s award unequivocally. Henley & Partners is committed to working with Morrow to promote the global cause of refugees, which has become the primary focus of our social investment.”