Recognised with an Excellence Award
This is about the quiet weight of unseen work, and what it means when someone notices anyway.
Margaret Akullo was not expecting a nomination, and certainly not an excellence award. After many years doing the kind of work she does, she learnt to find meaning in the work itself.
Margaret is a Ugandan-born British criminologist, mentor, and leadership adviser whose work spans thirty-five years and four continents, often in places where justice was something people struggled to access, protect, and sustain in their daily lives.
Yet for all the policy discussions, international development work, and high-level engagement, the thread connecting her work has remained remarkably consistent: a belief in people and their capacity to grow, lead, and create change. She describes her work as a mentor as shaping leadership from the inside out. “When young leaders are seen, supported, and equipped,” she says, “they not only rise, but they also help transform the world around them.”
Margaret learned she had been anonymously selected to receive a PROSI Excellence Award, presented during the inaugural PROSI Exotic Festival 2026 in Vienna on 13 June. The award recognises individuals who have made a meaningful difference, in Austria, in their country of origin, and/or globally.
On receiving the award, Margaret said: “It took decades to make mentoring emerging leaders my purpose. I share this award with my mentees, past and present, in Austria and across the world. Watching them step into their own leadership is the true measure of this work.”
What stayed with her longer than the award itself was the anonymity of the nomination. Fellow members of the diaspora put her name forward, and said nothing about it. “To be of service to others leaves traces even when you cannot see them,” Margaret said. “Sometimes someone has been paying attention all along, and one day, without telling you, they decide you deserve to be seen.”
When the nominators came forward, their message was simple: “You are a true inspiration to many of us. I am happy you were chosen, as you truly deserve the excellence award for the mentorship work you do under your Impact Leaders Initiative.”
The nomination came through EmpowerHer, an initiative by Diaspora Creatives and several others from the diaspora in Austria.
Margaret extends her thanks to PROSI and the PROSI Global Charity Foundation for the recognition.