The 2016 Nansen Refugee Award Ceremony Highlights

"This award is a recognition of a conscious decision not to deny to vulnerable human beings that arrived in Lesvos, and to those who did not make it, their dignity," Latsoudi said, after she accepted the Nansen medal from UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the ceremony in central Geneva.

Greek volunteers Efi Latsoudi and Konstantinos Mitragas on behalf of the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) are the latest in a long line of distinguished everyday heroes to receive UNHCR's prestigious annual Nansen Refugee Award.

Both winners of the UN Refugee Agency's humanitarian prize helped thousands of refugees arriving on Greek shores during the 2015 refugee and migrant crisis – saving lives during treacherous sea crossings and providing a safe haven for the most vulnerable after they reached land.