The NRGI Changemaker Award
Celebrating the people whose courage, leadership and ideas are changing how natural resources are governed.
As NRGI marks its 20th anniversary, the NRGI Changemaker Award recognizes remarkable individuals who have delivered concrete improvements in how natural resources are governed.
Progress depends on people who push for greater transparency, accountability and fairness, often over many years and in difficult circumstances. The award celebrates that human force behind change.
In 2026, NRGI recognizes Cielo Magno of the Philippines as the inaugural NRGI Changemaker Award winner, alongside five leaders receiving special recognition for their contributions across Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa.
Cielo Magno
In recognition of her courage, leadership and impact in advancing resource governance.
Dr. Cielo Magno has spent more than two decades working to make institutions more transparent and accountable, bringing together research, public policy and civil society advocacy.
A professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman and former Undersecretary at the Philippine Department of Finance, Magno has been a prominent advocate for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector in the Philippines and internationally.
She served on the International Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), representing civil society and later an implementing country. She has also been a leader of Bantay Kita/Publish What You Pay Philippines and is its current president. Throughout her work, Magno has pushed for transparency to lead to stronger accountability, meaningful public participation and better use of evidence.
She has helped build coalitions across government, industry and civil society and strengthened the ability of civil society and government partners to use disclosed extractives data to hold institutions accountable. Her career has crossed the boundaries between advocacy, academia and government, reflecting a sustained commitment to ensuring that natural resources are governed in the public interest.
Special recognition
The 2026 award also recognizes five changemakers whose leadership reflects the breadth of work needed to make natural resources serve people and communities.
Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) in Ghana. His work on energy and extractives governance has helped strengthen scrutiny of public institutions, contracts and resource revenues in Ghana and across Africa, pushing for greater transparency and accountability across the oil, gas, power and mining sectors.
Associate professor of political science at Gaston Berger University and president of Publish What You Pay Senegal, a coalition of 33 member organizations. Since 2022 he has represented civil society on Senegal's National EITI Committee, including chairing its Validation Committee during the country's third EITI evaluation.
President and co-founder of DiXi Group, a Ukrainian think tank working on energy policy, security and transparency. She has played a leading role in Ukraine's EITI process and in international civil society networks, including Publish What You Pay.
Investigative journalist whose reporting examines the environmental and human consequences of decisions about natural resources and the energy transition. His work at the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) has contributed to collaborative investigations into energy transition mineral supply chains and violence against environmental defenders.
Civil society activist from Tataouine, Tunisia, working at the community level on sustainable development, climate resilience and a just energy transition. Her work has focused on strengthening community participation and ensuring that people affected by energy and natural resource decisions have a meaningful voice in shaping them.
About the award
The NRGI Changemaker Award was created as part of NRGI's 20th anniversary to recognize the people behind progress in natural resource governance.
The award recognizes individuals who have delivered tangible improvements in how natural resources are governed, guided by a shared vision of a world where natural resources enable fair, prosperous and sustainable societies.
The selection considered three qualities
- Impact: Delivering clear improvements in natural resource governance, whether locally, nationally, regionally or globally.
- Courage: Advancing reform despite resistance, pressure or risk.
- Innovation: Developing or applying new approaches, tools or models that can inspire and enable further progress.
The 2026 winner and special recognition recipients reflect different generations, regions and ways of creating change, from civil society advocacy and investigative journalism to research, public policy and institution building.
Twenty years of people driving change
For 20 years, NRGI has worked alongside people around the world to make natural resource wealth work better for citizens. The Changemaker Award celebrates that community and the people shaping what comes next.