Meet The Five Young 2021 MTV EMA Generation Change Award Recipients

The 2021 MTV EMA awards show is only a few days away, and this year already promises to be an affair to remember. Hosted by Saweetie, the show will air live from the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna in Hungary on Sunday, November 14 at 9 p.m. CET and will also broadcast live on MTV channels in 180 countries.

In addition to some of your faves racking up serious nominations – Justin Bieber leads with eight, while Doja Cat and Lil Nas X follow closely behind with six each — some others will also be hitting the stage. Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Kim Petras, Girl in Red, and more are all performing, ensuring the night’s soundtrack is absolutely dynamite.

But in addition to all the awards and the live music, this year’s EMA show is set to spotlight five young activists who are leading the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ policies. They will all be honored with the 2021 MTV EMA Generation Change Award as changemakers who further equality and love in their chosen work.

The award-winners include Amir Ashour, Matthew Blaise, Sage Dolan-Sandrino, Erika Hilton, and Viktória Radványi.

Ashour, currently a student at Harvard Law School, began IraQueer, Iraq’s first LGBTQ+ organization and ran it as executive director for seven years. Blaise founded The Oasis Project in Nigeria, which promotes “positive representation and humanization of queer people” in their home nation of Nigeria, according to its stated goal.

New York-based Dolan-Sandrino founded the Team Mag, a creative enterprise that allows her to explore her identity as an Afro-Cuban queer and trans woman as well as a longtime public voice for trans student rights. Hilton became the first Black trans woman ever elected in São Paulo, Brazil, and won a spot on the state legislature. Radványi works as part of Budapest Pride, Hungary’s first feminist and anti-racist LGBTQ+ non-profit that advocates for a society without fear of hate and discrimination.

The MTV EMA launched the Generation Change Award in 2018 to recognize “fearless, original young people who are tackling the world’s toughest problems through music, storytelling or digital media,” according to a release. Find more info on the award here.

The five recipients will receive the 2021 MTV EMA Generation Change Award via a taped message from Drew Barrymore during the show. The award is part of an expanded partnership between MTV and LGBTQ+ advocacy group All Out.

The 2021 EMAs will touch down at the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna in Hungary on Sunday, November 14 at 9 p.m. CET and will also broadcast live on MTV channels in 180 countries. Head to ema.mtv.com for more info.