Andrew Carnegie Foundation Communications Recognized with Top Industry Awards
Great Immigrants comic series, an interactive map of Carnegie Libraries, and videos about Andrew Carnegie win 2026 Webby, Telly, and Communicator Awards
Jul 23, 2026
The Andrew Carnegie Foundation has been recognized with seven top industry prizes for communications initiatives that celebrate the contributions of immigrants, map Carnegie Libraries across the country, and tell Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropic story. The projects received two Webby Awards, two Telly Awards, and three Communicator Awards, selected from thousands of entrants across fields and media. Learn more about each project and its recognitions below.
Andrew Carnegie: To Try and Make the World in Some Way Better
A series of videos about Andrew Carnegie’s life and legacy, narrated by actor Brian Cox, won a Gold Award in the non-broadcast campaign-not-for-profit category and a Silver Award in the branded content campaign-not-for-profit category at the 47th annual Telly Awards. The videos highlight how Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant from Scotland, rose from poverty to define modern philanthropy, establish libraries around the world, and fight for world peace.
Historian David Nasaw served as an adviser for the videos, which were produced by Smartypants. The Telly Awards are given for excellence in video and television.
Carnegie Libraries Across America
Carnegie’s interactive mapping site, which allows visitors to explore and share stories about the 1,681 Carnegie Libraries built in the United States, won a 2026 Award of Excellence in the general-education category from the Communicator Awards. The awards recognize excellence, effectiveness, and innovation across all areas of communication.
Starting in 1881, Andrew Carnegie funded construction of more than 2,500 libraries worldwide. Through an interactive map designed by the production studio Polygraph, visitors can now find information about each U.S. location, including archival records. Users can also submit their own stories about their connections to Carnegie Libraries.
Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Series
The Great Immigrants, Great Americans Comic Series, in which naturalized U.S. citizens tell their stories in their own words, won a 2026 Webby Award for best social video short form and a Webby People’s Voice Award, chosen by the voting public, for the best social content series. The Webby Award is an international recognition honoring excellence on the internet.
The comic series also received awards for excellence from the Communicator Awards in the series-non-profit and series-animation categories.
The series includes three original animations, a downloadable comic book, more than a dozen individual comics, and lesson plans. The videos feature groundbreaking musician David Byrne, whistleblowing pediatrician Mona Hanna, and legendary DC illustrator and chief creative officer Jim Lee.
All materials are free to use, share, and republish. Each comic is paired with data from the American Immigration Council, providing facts about how immigrants contribute to America as artists, scientists, educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. The series was produced by the creative studio Jongsma + O’Neill.
