Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean clergyman and founder of the #ThisFlag Citizen’s Movement to challenge corruption, injustice and poverty in Zimbabwe. For his activism, Mawarire was imprisoned and tortured in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and charged with treason, facing 80 years in prison. His main objective is to empower citizens to hold the government to account. Through viral videos and engagement sessions, the #ThisFlag movement has organised multiple successful non-violent protests in response to unjust government policy.
Mawarire’s message of inspiring positive social change and national pride has resonated with diverse groups of citizens and attracted international attention. Evan has addressed audiences at The Atlantic Council, Yale University’s Association for African Peace and Development, Harvard University’s Human Rights Centre, The Oxford Union (UK), and the Oslo Freedom Forum. Foreign Policy magazine named him among 100 global thinkers of 2016, while the Daily Maverick Newspaper of South Africa named him 2016 African person of the year.
Mawarire was a nominee for the 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression awards and the Swedish government’s prestigious Per Anger Prize for democracy defenders. He is a 2018 fellow of Stanford University’s Centre for Democracy Development and the Rule of Law and was selected in 2020 for the prestigious Yale World Fellows program. Mawarire is also a 2021 Regan-Fascell Fellow hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Evan continues his work as a speaker and trainer on nonviolent, citizen driven change, democracy development and human rights.
