George Clooney praises wife Amal for work with foundation: 'I couldn't be more proud'

George Clooney praised his wife Amal at the inaugural Albie Awards on Thursday, hosted by the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

"Well we collaborate on everything. We collaborated on twins!" Clooney told PEOPLE. "But you know, this is an exciting one because Amal's gotten journalists out of Egypt, out of Azerbaijan, prisons, out of — all over the world, Myanmar. My father's a journalist. I have a great affinity for them — her mother's a journalist. So it's really exciting for me when she's able to get people who are wrongly accused for doing their job out [of prison]. So, for me, it's just — I couldn't be more proud of my wife."

The Albie Awards, created by the celebrity couple, was named after South African justice Albie Sachs and honor those defenders of justice. Celebrity guests such as Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Dua Lipa, and Bruce Springsteen attended the event.

Sachs also received a lifetime achievement award for his commitment to ending apartheid in South Africa.