Deadline for nominations is Friday 6 December, from or on behalf of small or medium-sized groups or coalitions working to end animal experiments in Europe.  

Nominations can be submitted via our application form, with the winner announced on Deckers’ birthday, 13 January. The winner will receive 6,000 euros to fund a campaign, training programme or outreach work that targets animal testing.  

The award was launched in 2020 in honour of the co-founder of Dutch animal protection group, Een Dier Een Vriend (now Diervriendelijk Nederland) and former Chair of both the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments and Cruelty Free Europe, who tragically died in June 2020. 

Deckers led many successful campaigns in the Netherlands, across Europe and beyond. Most notable was his work to end the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research in the Netherlands, which saw the last chimps kept in European laboratories transferred to a sanctuary in 2006.   

Ann De Greef, our Chair, and co-founder and Director of member group GAIA, said: “Geoffrey's vision for an active network of animal protection groups across Europe continues to inspire us today. We welcome applications for the award that bears his name from groups committed to making a real difference for animals, working together to continue to foster dynamic activism worldwide.” 

Adrie van Steijn, Cruelty Free Europe board member and co-founder, with Deckers, of Een Dier Een Vriend, said: “As his widower, I know that Geoffrey was always there to support anyone who wanted to make a difference for animals and especially small and new organisations. The Geoffrey Deckers Award is our way of honouring and continuing Geoffrey’s spirit for outreach and partnership.”  

Past recipients of the award include Bulgarian group CAAI (Campaigns and Activism for Animals in the Industry), EcoVegAnimals (EVA) based in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Növényi Forradalom (Plant Revolution) in Hungary, and SAFRIreland.  

SAFRIreland’s work towards ending Botulinum Toxin (Botox) testing in Ireland was recognised in 2024, leading to the introduction to the Irish Parliament of a bill to end Botox testing on animals.  

Eco Veg Animals also received their second Geoffrey Deckers Award in 2024, to fund their third ‘Conference on Humane Alternatives in Education’, together with helping the Pharmaceutical Faculty of the University of Sarajevo to adopt new alternatives and become a cruelty-free faculty.  

After receiving the 2023 award, CAAI organised an international conference on animal testing in education, ‘Conference on Innovations in Education – Science Without Animal Experiments, in Sofia. The event was the first of its kind in Bulgaria – the country which uses the most animals in experiments for educational purposes in Europe – and was attended by lecturers from across Europe and the USA, as well as students, animal protection organisations, scientists, and other stakeholders. As a result of the conference, Sofia’s University of Forestry has ended its use of animals in education.  

Winners in 2022, Növényi Forradalom (Plant Revolution) used the prize to recruit new staff members to implement campaigns and organise rescue missions for wild animals held in captivity in the Ukrainian warzone. They had previously led a social media campaign to support the ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which helped Hungary pass their threshold for signatures as part of a total of 1.2 million signatures across Europe.  

The inaugural winners, EcoVegAnimals, mounted an anti-animal testing campaign across 35 different locations across the country, using billboards, screens and city lights as well as print and social media outlets. They also talked to public institutions and beauty brands to ask for a ban on animal testing for cosmetics.  

Submit your nomination here.