Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s civic hacker and cyber ambassador, is receiving the 2025 Right Livelihood Award for pioneering the use of frontier technology to advance digital democracy with ethics and transparency. At a time of deep global polarisation, Tang is building trust across political divides and putting human dignity at the centre of innovation.
For 45 years, the Right Livelihood Award has honoured and supported courageous people leading the way to a just, peaceful and sustainable world for all. To date, 203 Laureates from 81 countries have received the Award, including Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matviichuk, Congolese gynaecologist and women’s rights advocate Dr Denis Mukwege and American public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson.
Tang discussed their work during an online press conference on October 1. Watch here.
Tang is a civic hacker and technologist who rewires systems for the public good. As Taiwan’s cyber ambassador, its first digital minister, and architect of the “Taiwan Model” of digital diplomacy, Tang showed how frontier technology can deepen trust, giving millions a direct role in shaping policy. Emerging from Taiwan’s open-source movement, Tang reimagined government as open and collaborative, creating participatory processes such as vTaiwan and declaring broadband a human right.
Tang’s methods were forged in a uniquely high-stakes setting. Taiwan is a democracy under constant pressure from authoritarian China and a frequent target of disinformation campaigns. With the success of digital democracy in this geopolitical frontline, Tang now carries the playbook worldwide. From civic programmes in Japan to social media reforms in the US and EU, she is broadening who gets a say in policy, ensuring even young people and marginalised communities can shape the rules that affect them. At Oxford, she now develops new approaches to AI ethics and governance, while global platforms like Roblox and Bluesky work with her on safety innovations.
Right Livelihood’s jury said that Tang was receiving the Award “for advancing the social use of digital technology to empower citizens, renew democracy and heal divides.”
Audrey Tang said:
“The Right Livelihood Award is designed to address the most pressing challenges people and the planet are facing right now. I see this as affirming the particular work that I do: overcoming political polarisation, social media fragmentation and the loss of trust in democratic institutions. Cyberspace is a conflict region, and my work turns that conflict into an energy source for co-creation. It is time we work on peace in this zone.”
Ole von Uexkull, Right Livelihood’s Executive Director, said:
“Tang envisions and demonstrates how digital tools can deepen democracy, rather than erode it. By putting technology at the service of people, she reminds us that the true superintelligence is humanity itself. Having showcased this vision in Taiwan, she is now carrying it to the world.”
The other 2025 Right Livelihood Laureates are:
- Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (international) and Julian Aguon (Guam). Press conference: Watch post-announcement press conference
- Emergency Response Rooms (Sudan). Watch post-announcement press conference
- Justice For Myanmar (Myanmar). For security reasons, contact us directly to request an interview.
The 2025 Laureates will be honoured during a televised Award Presentation in Stockholm on December 2.
Nominations are now also open for next year’s Award!
Find more information about the Laureates.
Photos and videos of the new Laureates can be found here.
Media contacts
- International media: Emoke Bebiak, emoke.bebiak@rightlivelihood.org, +41 78 333 84 84 and Temis Tormo, temis.tormo@rightlivelihood.org, +46 72 923 3182
- German media: Julia Naumann and Nina Tesenfitz, presse@rightlivelihood.org, +49 170 5763 663
- Spanish media: Nayla Azzinnari, nayla@rightlivelihood.org, +54 9 11 5460 9860
- Scandinavian media: Vanessa Marko, vanessa.marko@arenaopinion.se, +46 76 321 66 37
- Photos, videos: Mikaela Fredrikson, mikaela.fredrikson@rightlivelihood.org
