Thor Halvorssen Mendoza and His Achievements

He is a well-known human rights activist who has a successful history founding non-profit organizations and producing documentaries and films that raise issues about human rights violations. These many accomplishments have led to his receiving numerous awards and recognition for his work.

Sol Feinstone Award

He attended the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1990s, and was there when his father was unjustly arrested, detained and tortured on trumped-up charges of terrorism. Though still at university, he led a campaign to release his father and even received help from Amnesty International. The movement was successful and his father was eventually released and found not guilty. As a result of his life-long commitment to protecting rights, including student speech, he was awarded the Sol Feinstone Award by the University of Pennsylvania president Judith Rodin. He is also a supported and fellow of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

Commemorative Presidential Silver Medal

He has also been honored internationally. In 2010, he received a presidential silver medal from Romanian leader Emil Constantinescu to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Romanian Revolution of 1989. When he was presenting the medal, Constantinescu stated, "On behalf of those who fought and died for freedom, I present this medal to the Oslo Freedom Forum founder, and remind those here that even if Romanians live in democracy now, we cannot feel entirely free as long as other people – who live under dictatorial and repressive regimes anywhere in the world – are not also be free."

Best Documentary: The Sugar Babies

In 2007, he produced “The Sugar Babies,” a documentary about human trafficking and the plight of migrant farm works, particularly children, in the Dominican Republic. The documentary specifically targets some big names in the sugar industry and led to the Dominican government and the sugar industry to attempt and stop the film’s release. Despite this controversy, The Sugar Babies was released and has been watched worldwide and even led to the US Department of Labor adding “sugarcane from the Dominican Republic” to its list of products that are believed to have been made with forced or child labor.

The film was so well received that it was named "Official Selection" at several film festivals including Through Women's Eyes Film Festival, the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival and the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival. The film also won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Delray Beach Film Festival.

Oslo Freedom Forum

The Oslo Freedom Forum, an annual global conference focused on human rights violation awareness, was originally founded by him. The special forum has been well received and is praised for bringing world leaders and influential activists together. BBC even produced a 6-minute video for News night about the Oslo Freedom Forum, calling it “school for revolutionaries… [Where]…pro-democracy activists share ideas and learn about agitating for positive change.” The Oslo Freedom Forum has also received support from many international groups and is endorsed by the Nobel Peace Center and other known institutions worldwide.

Thor Halvorssen Mendoza’s Oslo Freedom Forum was also described by the Economist as a “spectacular human-rights festival ... on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum”.