PRESS RELEASE
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARDS FOR DEMOCRACY, BIOSAFETY,
POLLUTION CONTROL AND A NEW AGRICULTURE
The 2000 Right Livelihood Awards will be shared by
scientists and activists from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Turkey and the USA. With
the selection of these Award recipients at the start of a new millennium, the
Award's international Jury has sought to highlight four of the key issues
which will determine whether there is still a human civilisation to celebrate
at the end of it.
The four Award recipients, sharing SEK 2 000 000 (approx.
USD 200 000) , are:
The Ethiopian scientist Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher,
awarded "for his exemplary work in representing the Like-Minded Group of
developing countries at the Biosafety negotiations in Cartagena and Montreal,
and achieving an outcome that safeguards biodiversity and the traditional
rights of farmers and communities to their genetic resources".
The Indonesian lawyer and human rights activist Munir,
honoured "for his courage and dedication in fighting for human rights and
the civilian control of the military in the world's fifth most populous
country".
The Turkish environmentalist Birsel Lemke,
recognised "for her long-standing struggle to protect her country from
the devastation of cyanide-based gold mining and her key role in the
international campaign to ban this disastrous technology".
The United States plant geneticist Wes Jackson,
who receives the Award "for his single-minded commitment over more than
two decades to developing an agriculture based on perennial crops that is both
highly productive and truly ecologically sustainable".
Further details about the work of these recipients is
given on separate sheets.
Founded in 1980, the Right Livelihood Awards are
presented annually in the Swedish Parliament and are usually referred to as
"Alternative Nobel Prizes". They were introduced "to honour and
support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent
challenges facing us today". The idea came from Jakob von Uexkull, a
Swedish-German philatelic expert, who sold his valuable postage stamps to
provide the original endowment. Alfred Nobel wanted to honour those whose work
"brought the greatest benefit to humanity". Von Uexkull felt that
the Nobel Prizes today ignore much work and knowledge vital for our future.
* * *
A Press Conference with the recipients will be held in
Stockholm on Wednesday, December 6th. The award presentation ceremony in the
Swedish Parliament will be held on December 8th.
For further information and photos of the 2000 Award recipients, including contact addresses:
Kajsa Raab, Acting Administrative Director
Right Livelihood Award, Stockholm
Telephone: +46 (0)8-702 03 40
Fax: +46 (0)8-702 03 38
E-mail: info@rightlivelihood.se
Internet: http://www.rightlivelihood.se
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