Famous Pakistani non-governmental organisation (NGO) The Second Floor (T2F) has been nominated for the Human Rights Tulip 2015 award.
The award is presented by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to those who promote and support human rights in innovative ways. The winner is awarded a prize worth €100.000 to further help their cause.
T2F, which was established in 2007, is the first project of PeaceNiche and is the brainchild of Sabeen Mahmud who was brutally slain by gunmen in Karachi on April 24, 2015.
T2F is a community space for open dialogue which provides a platform for people aiming for social change and it features a coffeehouse, bookshop, and exhibition gallery.
Mahmud’s NGO is among 30 other organisations that have been selected for public voting. After the voting period, only six candidates will be left of which three will be public favourites and three wild cards selected by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Hivos, a non-governmental organisation.
Public voting started on September 9 and will be open until September 16. So far, T2F is ranked fourth with 157 votes. The winner will be announced on December 10.
In 2013, Aahung became the first Pakistani NGO to bag the Human Rights Tulip Award at The Hague, Netherlands. Aahung became the sixth official recipient of the award, which is given every year to individuals or organisations that protect and promote human rights.
