Jon McCourt of Survivors North West group
Mr McCourt, who set up the campaign group Survivors North West, has worked with victims of historical institutional abuse over the years.
Councillors on Derry City and Strabane District Council have passed the motion to confer its highest honour on him
Jon said it was an honour to be considered, but the award was not about him.
“This is recognition for the many people who suffered in those institutions over the decades and who bravely spoke out and held those responsible to account,” he said.
People Before Profit Foyleside Councillor Shaun Harkin nominated Mr McCourt for the award.
“It is an acknowledgment for Jon and it is also an acknowledgment for his tireless campaigning,” Mr Harkin told BBC Radio Foyle.
Unionist councillors abstained from the vote.
Mr McCourt has worked with victims of Troubles-related violence and has been a key figure in the Peace and Reconciliation group in Derry.
He spent more than two decades campaigning for an investigation into allegations of abuse in church and state-run institutions.
In 2017, the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry led by the late Sir Anthony Hart examined the abuse of hundreds of children over seven decades.
It examined the period from 1922 to 1995 and found there had been widespread and systemic abuse at these institutions.
Sir Anthony recommended compensation, a memorial and a public apology to abuse survivors.
Mr McCourt formed Survivors North West after he spoke publicly about his own experience as a child at St Joseph’s Boys’ Home in Termonbacca, Derry.
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