The Mensa Foundation is committed to utilizing the talents of gifted people and making the significance of giftedness more visible to society.
We do this partly by encouraging exceptional achievements: since 2013, we have presented the Mensa Foundation Awards every year to recognize people or organizations that make a difference for the gifted, and who played an important role in recognizing, acknowledging, and using giftedness in society and contributed to a positive image of giftedness.
Three types of Mensa Foundation Awards
There are three types Mensa Foundation Awards:
a. an Impact Award for a long-term or in-depth contribution. This prize is awarded by the jury to the person or organization that has made a long-term or profound contribution to the integration of giftedness and society. There are no nominations here: the jury independently determines which person or organization in the field of highly giftedness is eligible for this.
b. an “Uitblinker Award” (Excellence Award) for people or organizations that has contributed to a positive image of and social opportunities for gifted people. Anyone can recommend candidates from which the jury selects three nominees and the winner.
c. a Popular Award, for people or organizations that have helped the gifted in the field of work, education, society or similar areas. Anyone can recommend candidates from which the jury selects three nominees. Anybody in the general public can then vote; the nominee with most votes is declared winner of the Award.
General Awards Criteria
A Mensa Foundation Award can be awarded to an individual, a team, or an organization. There are three criteria that are of great importance for the granting of a Mensa Foundation Award:
a) make visible the significance of high general intelligence for society;
b) support best practices for making the most of very high intelligence, and
c) contribute to a social opportunities for the gifted, and a positive image of giftedness.