MIT Disobedience Award


The MIT Disobedience Award, given by the MIT Media Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a $250,000 cash-prize award which recognizes and honors the efforts of an individual or an organization whose ethical disobedience of authority resulted in a positive social impact.

History

The Disobedience Award was created by former director of the MIT Media Lab Joi Ito and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman in July 2016. In July 2017, MIT Media Lab presented the Disobedience Award to recipients Marc Edwards and Mona Hanna-Attisha to honor their efforts in exposing high levels of lead in the water supply of Flint, Michigan during the Flint Water Crisis. In 2018, the annual award was presented to the founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, and to BethAnn McLaughlin and Sherry Marts; who were recognized for activism in the #MeToo movement and the #MeTooSTEM movement, and for efforts in combating sexual harassment and misconduct in science and in academia.
The Disobedience Award is an international award, and individuals and organizations from all disciplines and specialties, including science, medicine, human rights, politics, law, journalism, and technology, are eligible for nomination.

Recipients

Disobedience Award