Right Livelihood Award
Encyclopedia
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull
, and is presented annually in early December. An international jury, invited by the five regular Right Livelihood Award board members, decides the awards in such fields as environmental protection
, human rights
, sustainable development
, health
, education
, and peace
. The prize money is shared among the winners, usually numbering four, and is EUR
200,000. Very often one of the four Laureates receives an Honorary Award, which means that the other three share the Prize money.
Somewhat similar to the economics prize, it is not a Nobel prize
(i.e., a prize created by Alfred Nobel
). However, unlike the economics prize it does not have any organizational ties to the awarding institutions of the Nobel Prize or the Nobel Foundation.
It is often popularly associated with the Nobel prizes, being awarded in the Riksdag of Sweden
the day before the Nobel prizes and the economics prize are also awarded in Stockholm
, and being understood as a critique of the traditional Nobel prizes. The establishment of the award followed a failed attempt to have the Nobel Foundation create new prizes in the areas of environmental protection, sustainable development and human rights. The prize has been awarded to a diverse group of people and organisations, including Wangari Maathai
, Astrid Lindgren
, Bianca Jagger
, Mordechai Vanunu
, Petra Kelly
and Memorial
.
Democracy Now!
describes the prize as "widely recognized as the world’s premier award for personal courage and social transformation".
old Parliament building, the day before the traditional Nobel prizes are awarded in the same city. A group of Swedish Parliamentarians from different parties host the ceremony, in 2009 European Commissioner Margot Wallström
co-hosted the ceremony.
The prize differs significantly from the Nobel Prize
s:
in a new prize to be awarded together with the Nobel Prizes. He suggested the establishment of two new prizes, one for ecology and one for development. Like the Economics Prize, this would have possible by an amendment to the Nobel Foundation statutes and funding of the prize amount completely separate from Nobel's fortune. The Nobel Prize amount was 880,000 Swedish kronor at that time, which corresponded to 195,000 US-Dollars. However, as a result of the debate that followed the establishment of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (first awarded in 1969), the Nobel Foundation had decided not to associate the Nobel Prize with any additional awards, so von Uexküll's proposal was rejected.
The award states that, in the 21st century, the "greatest benefit to mankind" may be found in different fields than in the traditional sciences or in strict categories: the vast majority of award winners work for grassroots non-governmental organisations in their countries. The foundation understands its awards as a complement to the Nobel Prizes.
Since 1980, the foundation has presented, as of 2010, awards to 141 individuals and organisations from 59 countries. Its purpose is both to bestow prizes and to publicize the work of its recipients' local solutions to problems that also exist worldwide.
Jakob von Uexkull
Jakob von Uexkull is a writer, lecturer, philanthropist, activist and former politician. He served as a Member of the European Parliament 1987–1989, representing the German Green Party. In 1980, Uexkull founded the Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, and in 2006,...
, and is presented annually in early December. An international jury, invited by the five regular Right Livelihood Award board members, decides the awards in such fields as environmental protection
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
. The prize money is shared among the winners, usually numbering four, and is EUR
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
200,000. Very often one of the four Laureates receives an Honorary Award, which means that the other three share the Prize money.
Somewhat similar to the economics prize, it is not a Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
(i.e., a prize created by Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
). However, unlike the economics prize it does not have any organizational ties to the awarding institutions of the Nobel Prize or the Nobel Foundation.
It is often popularly associated with the Nobel prizes, being awarded in the Riksdag of Sweden
Riksdag building
The Riksdag building is the seat of the Parliament of Sweden. It is located on Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm.- History :...
the day before the Nobel prizes and the economics prize are also awarded in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and being understood as a critique of the traditional Nobel prizes. The establishment of the award followed a failed attempt to have the Nobel Foundation create new prizes in the areas of environmental protection, sustainable development and human rights. The prize has been awarded to a diverse group of people and organisations, including Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
, Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
, Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
, Mordechai Vanunu
Mordechai Vanunu
Mordechai Vanunu ; is a former Israeli nuclear technician who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and kidnapped by...
, Petra Kelly
Petra Kelly
Petra Karin Kelly was a German politician and activist. She was instrumental in founding the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence worldwide.- Early life :...
and Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
.
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
describes the prize as "widely recognized as the world’s premier award for personal courage and social transformation".
Ceremony
Since 1985, the ceremony has taken place in the StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
old Parliament building, the day before the traditional Nobel prizes are awarded in the same city. A group of Swedish Parliamentarians from different parties host the ceremony, in 2009 European Commissioner Margot Wallström
Margot Wallström
Margot Elisabeth Wallström is a Swedish social democratic, currently holding the job as . Prior to this post, she served as European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy...
co-hosted the ceremony.
Nature of the award
The prize is widely referred to in the media as the Alternative Nobel Prize, a name that entered usage in the media in the 1980s, though mostly the two names are mentioned alongside. The usage differs somewhat by country, in both French and German-speaking Europe, the prize is almost exclusively referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize. The prize is frequently understood as a critique of the traditional Nobel prizes.The prize differs significantly from the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s:
- similar to the Sveriges Riksbank economics prize, it is not a fulfillment of Alfred NobelAlfred NobelAlfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
's bequest and thus not one of Nobel's own prizes - it has an open nomination process (anyone can nominate anyone else, except close relatives or their own organizations);
- it is not limited to specific categories.
- its prize money is considerably lower than the one of the Nobel Prize. Currently it is 200,000 € compared to about 1,000,000 € for a Nobel Prize.
- the funds for the prizes are continually acquired by donations, while the Nobel Prizes come from the revenue of Alfred Nobel's fortune. The economics prize is financed by Sveriges RiksbankSveriges RiksbankSveriges Riksbank, or simply Riksbanken, is the central bank of Sweden and the world's oldest central bank. It is sometimes called the Swedish National Bank or the Bank of Sweden .-History:...
.
History
Jakob von Uexküll sold his valuable stamp collection to create a prize. He made one million US-dollars which provided the initial funding of the award. Before establishing the award in 1980, von Uexkull had tried to interest the Nobel FoundationNobel Foundation
The Nobel Foundation is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The Foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite....
in a new prize to be awarded together with the Nobel Prizes. He suggested the establishment of two new prizes, one for ecology and one for development. Like the Economics Prize, this would have possible by an amendment to the Nobel Foundation statutes and funding of the prize amount completely separate from Nobel's fortune. The Nobel Prize amount was 880,000 Swedish kronor at that time, which corresponded to 195,000 US-Dollars. However, as a result of the debate that followed the establishment of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (first awarded in 1969), the Nobel Foundation had decided not to associate the Nobel Prize with any additional awards, so von Uexküll's proposal was rejected.
The award states that, in the 21st century, the "greatest benefit to mankind" may be found in different fields than in the traditional sciences or in strict categories: the vast majority of award winners work for grassroots non-governmental organisations in their countries. The foundation understands its awards as a complement to the Nobel Prizes.
Since 1980, the foundation has presented, as of 2010, awards to 141 individuals and organisations from 59 countries. Its purpose is both to bestow prizes and to publicize the work of its recipients' local solutions to problems that also exist worldwide.
Laureates
Year | Laureates | Country |
---|---|
1980 | |
Hassan Fathy Hassan Fathy Hassan Fathy was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick and traditional as opposed to western building designs and lay-outs... |
Egypt |
Plenty International Plenty International Plenty International is an environmental, humanitarian aid and human rights organization based in Summertown, Tennessee, USA.-Background:In 1974, Stephen Gaskin and The Farm, an intentional community, started an outreach program called Plenty... |
United States Guatemala Lesotho |
1981 | |
Mike Cooley Mike Cooley Mike Cooley is an Irish-born engineer and former trade union leader, best known for his involvement in workplace activism at the British company Lucas Aerospace in the late 1970s. In 1981, he was a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. Cooley was born in Tuam, Ireland, and studied engineering... |
United Kingdom |
Bill Mollison Bill Mollison Bruce Charles 'Bill' Mollison is a researcher, author, scientist, teacher and naturalist. He is considered to be the 'father of permaculture', an integrated system of design, co-developed with David Holmgren, that encompasses not only agriculture, horticulture, architecture and ecology, but also... |
Australia |
Patrick van Rensburg Patrick van Rensburg Patrick van Rensburg is an African educationalist and former anti-apartheid activist. He founded the Brigades Movement in Botswana, and the Foundation for Education with Production which is active in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.... / Education with Production |
Botswana South Africa |
1982 | |
Erik Dammann Erik Dammann Erik Dammann is a Norwegian author and environmentalist, educated within advertising. He is mostly known for founding of the Norwegian-based organization, The Future in Our Hands... / Future in Our Hands |
Norway |
Anwar Fazal Anwar Fazal Anwar Fazal is a grassroots environmental activist. He was trained at the University of Malaya in Economics and Education... |
Malaysia |
Petra Kelly Petra Kelly Petra Karin Kelly was a German politician and activist. She was instrumental in founding the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence worldwide.- Early life :... |
West Germany |
Participatory Institute for Development Alternatives | Sri Lanka |
George Trevelyan | United Kingdom |
1983 | |
Leopold Kohr Leopold Kohr Leopold Kohr was an economist, jurist and political scientist known both for his opposition to the "cult of bigness" in social organization and as one of those who inspired the small is beautiful movement... |
Austria |
Amory Lovins Amory Lovins Amory Bloch Lovins is an American environmental scientist and writer, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades... and Hunter Lovins Hunter Lovins L. Hunter Lovins is an author and a promoter of sustainable development for over 30 years, is president of Natural Capitalism Solutions, a 5013 non-profit in Longmont, Colorado and the Chief Insurgent of the Madrone Project... / Rocky Mountain Institute Rocky Mountain Institute Rocky Mountain Institute is an organization in the United States dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI was established in 1982 and has grown into a... |
United States |
Manfred Max-Neef Manfred Max-Neef Artur Manfred Max Neef is a Chilean economist and environmentalist mainly known for his human development model based on Fundamental human needs. He is of German descent... / CEPAUR |
Chile |
High Chief Ibedul Gibbons and the People of Belau | Palau |
1984 | |
Imane Khalifeh | Lebanon |
Self-Employed Women's Association / Ela Bhatt Ela Bhatt Ela Ramesh Bhatt is the founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India . A lawyer by training, Bhatt is a respected leader of the international labour, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements who has won several national and international awards.-Early life:Ela Bhatt was born in... |
India |
Winefreda Geonzon / Free Legal Assistance Volunteers' Association (FREE LAVA) | Philippines |
Wangari Maathai Wangari Maathai Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya... / Green Belt Movement Green Belt Movement The Green Belt Movement is an indigenous grassroots non-governmental organization based in Nairobi, Kenya that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building... |
Kenya |
1985 | |
Theo Van Boven Theo van Boven Theo van Boven is a Dutch jurist and professor emeritus in international law.In 1977 he was appointed director of the United Nations' Division for Human Rights.... |
Netherlands |
Cary Fowler Cary Fowler Cary Fowler is the executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, based in Rome, Italy. Previously, Fowler was Professor and Director of Research in the Department for International Environment & Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway. Fowler holds... (Rural Advancement Fund International) |
United States |
Pat Mooney (Rural Advancement Fund International) | Canada |
Lokayan / Rajni Kothari | India |
Duna Kör Duna Kör Duna Kör is a Hungarian environmental organization founded in 1984 as a protest body to prevent the construction of the Gabčíkovo – Nagymaros Dams. Founder was biologist János Vargha. The organization was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1985.... |
Hungary |
1986 | |
Robert Jungk Robert Jungk Robert Jungk , also known as Robert Baum and Robert Baum-Jungk, was an Austrian writer and journalist who wrote mostly on issues relating to nuclear weapons.... |
Austria |
Rosalie Bertell Rosalie Bertell Rosalie Bertell is an American physician and epidemiologist best known for her work in the field of ionizing radiation. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she has worked in environmental health since 1970.... |
Canada |
Alice Stewart Alice Stewart Dr Alice Mary Stewart was a physician and epidemiologist specialising in social medicine and the effects of radiation on health... |
United Kingdom |
Ladakh Ecological Development Group / Helena Norberg-Hodge Helena Norberg-Hodge Helena Norberg-Hodge is an analyst of the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture worldwide, a pioneer of the localisation movement, and the articulator of the core ideas of Counter-development... |
India |
Evaristo Nugkuag Evaristo Nugkuag Evaristo Nugkuag is an activist for environmental and indigenous people causes. He is a member of the Aguaruna. He organized the Alliance of the Indian Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon and Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica "COICA" to serve indigenous people.-... / AIDESEP |
Peru |
1987 | |
Johan Galtung Johan Galtung Johan Galtung is a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, serving as its Director until 1970, and established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964... |
Norway |
Chipko movement Chipko movement The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan is a social-ecological movement that practised the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled... |
India |
Hans-Peter Dürr Hans-Peter Dürr Hans-Peter Dürr is a German physicist. In addition to nuclear and quantum physics, elementary particles and gravitation, epistemology, and philosophy, he has advocated responsible scientific and energy policies.-Biography:... / Global Challenges Network |
West Germany |
Institute for Food and Development Policy / Frances Moore Lappé Frances Moore Lappé Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 18 books including the three-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. She is the co-founder of three national organizations that explore the roots of hunger, poverty and environmental crises, as well as solutions now emerging worldwide through what she calls... |
United States |
Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ; is a former Israeli nuclear technician who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and kidnapped by... |
Israel |
1988 | |
International Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims / Dr. Inge Kemp Genefke | Denmark |
José Lutzenberger Jose Lutzenberger José Antônio Kroepf Lutzenberger was a Brazilian environmentalist.-Biography:He was born in a German family in Porto Alegre, the capital city of southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, as the only son of architect Joseph Franz Seraph Lutzenberger. He graduated in Agronomy at the Federal... |
Brazil |
John F. Charlewood Turner | United Kingdom |
Sahabat Alam Malaysia / Mohammed Idris, Harrison Ngau, the Penan Penan The Penan are a nomadic aboriginal people living in Sarawak and Brunei. They are one of the last such peoples remaining. The Penan are noted for their practice of 'molong' which means never taking more than necessary... people |
Malaysia |
1989 | |
Seikatsu Club Consumers' Co-operative Union Seikatsu Club Consumers' Co-operative Union The Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Co-operative Union is a Japanese federation of consumer co-operatives headquartered in Tokyo. The co-operative was formed in 1965 and has 307,000 members, most of whom are women. SCCCU is divided into groups of households who order food collectively. SCCCU offers only... |
Japan |
Melaku Worede Melaku Worede Melaku Worede is an Ethiopian agronomist. He was educated in the United States and received his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska in 1972. He was later head of the Plant Genetic Resources Center in Addis Ababa. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1989.-References:... |
Ethiopia |
Aklilu Lemma Aklilu Lemma Aklilu Lemma was an Ethiopian physician. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1989, jointly with Legesse Wolde-Yohannes, for their work and discoveries on how to prevent the parasitic disease bilharzia.-References:... / Legesse Wolde-Yohannes Legesse Wolde-Yohannes Legesse Wolde-Yohannes is an Ethiopian horticultural scientist. He cooperated with Aklilu Lemma on the discovery and research on how to use the plant endod as a means of preventing the parasitic disease bilharzia. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1989, jointly with Lemma.-References:... |
Ethiopia |
Survival International Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,... |
United Kingdom |
1990 | |
Alice Tepper Marlin Alice Tepper Marlin Alice Tepper Marlin is President and CEO of Social Accountability International, a standard-setting organization for improving workplaces and communities head-quartered in New York City... / Council on Economic Priorities |
United States |
Bernard Lédéa Ouedraogo | Burkina Faso |
Felicia Langer Felicia Langer Felicia Langer is an Israeli human rights attorney known for her defense of Palestinians charged with political violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She has also authored several books alleging human rights violations on the part of Israeli authorities. In July 2009, German President... |
Israel |
ATCC ATCC ATCC may refer to:* American Touring Car Championship* American Type Culture Collection* Asociación de Trabajadores Campesinos del Carare* Asian Touring Car Championship* Air Traffic Control Center* Atona Case Competition... (Asociación de Trabajadores Campesinos del Carare) |
Colombia |
1991 | |
Edward Goldsmith Edward Goldsmith Edward René David Goldsmith , widely known as Teddy Goldsmith, was an Anglo-French environmentalist, writer and philosopher.... |
United Kingdom |
Narmada Bachao Andolan Narmada Bachao Andolan Narmada Bachao Andolan is social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built across the Narmada river, Gujarat, India.... |
India |
Bengt Danielsson Bengt Danielsson Bengt Emmerik Danielsson was an anthropologist and a crew member on the Kon-Tiki raft expedition from South America to French Polynesia in 1947. Danielsson was born in Sweden in 1921, obtained a Ph.D... & Marie-Thérèse Danielsson |
Polynesia Polynesia Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs... |
Senator Jeton Anjain Jeton Anjain Jeton Anjain was a Minister of Health and a senator of the Marshall Islands Parliament. He received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1992, for his efforts to help people from the Rongelap Atoll, which was subject to nuclear contamination after the test of the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb in... / the People of Rongelap |
Marshall Islands |
Landless Workers' Movement Landless Workers' Movement Landless Workers' Movement is a social movement in Brazil; it is the second largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a country it sees as mired by unjust land distribution... (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra) / CPT (Commissao Pastoral da Terra) |
Brazil |
1992 | |
Finnish Village Action Movement (Kylätoiminta) | Finland |
Gonoshasthaya Kendra / Zafrullah Chowdhury Zafrullah Chowdhury Zafrullah Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi public health activist. He is the founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra , a rural healthcare organization. Dr... |
Bangladesh |
Helen Mack Helen Mack Chang Helen Mack Chang is a Guatemalan businesswoman and human rights activist. She became an outspoken advocate for human rights after her sister, anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang, was assassinated by the Guatemalan military on September 11, 1990.... |
Guatemala |
John Gofman John Gofman John William Gofman was an American scientist and advocate. He was Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California at Berkeley. Some of his early work was on the Manhattan Project, and he shares patents on the fissionability of uranium-233 as well as on early processes... / Alla Yaroshinskaya Alla Yaroshinskaya Alla Yaroshinskaya is a Ukrainian politician and journalist. She was a member of the Supreme Soviet from 1989 to 1991, Deputy to the Minister of Press and Information until 1993, and then Adviser to the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and member of the Russian Presidential Council... |
United States / Ukraine |
1993 | |
Arna Mer-Khamis Arna Mer-Khamis Arna Mer-Khamis was an Israeli Jewish political and human rights activist.- Biography :Mer was born in 1929, in Rosh Pinna, then in Mandate Palestine. She fought with the Palmach and Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War... / Care and Learning |
Israel |
Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress / Sithembiso Nyoni Sithembiso Nyoni Sithembiso Gile Gladys Nyoni is a Zimbabwean politician and a former Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development.In the March 2008 parliamentary election, Nyoni was elected to the House of Assembly as the ZANU-PF candidate in Nkayi North... |
Zimbabwe |
Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva , is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D... |
India |
Mary Mary Dann The Dann Sisters, Mary Dann and her sister, Carrie were Western Shoshone spiritual leaders, ranchers, and cultural, spiritual rights and land rights activists. Carrie and Mary Dann filed a request for urgent action with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination... and Carrie Dann of the Western Shoshone Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern.... Nation |
North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... |
1994 | |
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide... |
Sweden |
SERVOL (Service Volunteered for All) | |
Dr. H. Sudarshan / VGKK (Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra(for working of soliga tribes in MM hills) | Karnataka, India |
Ken Saro-Wiwa Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro Wiwa was a Nigerian author, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize... / Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People is a campaigning organization representing the Ogoni people. Ogoniland is situated north-east of Niger Delta... |
Ogoniland, Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
1995 | |
András Biró András Biró András Biró is a Hungarian journalist, journal editor, environment activist and human rights activist. He was born in Bulgaria in 1925 by Hungarian / Serbian parents. He was founding editor of the journal Mazingira. He founded the organization Hungarian Foundation for Self-Reliance in 1990. He was... / Hungarian Foundation for Self-Reliance |
Hungary |
Serb Civic Council Serb Civic Council The Serb Civic Council was created in March 1994 amidst the Bosnian War by Bosnian Serbs who were loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and rejected Republika Srpska's regime... |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Carmel Budiardjo / TAPOL | Indonesia / United Kingdom |
Sulak Sivaraksa Sulak Sivaraksa Sulak Sivaraksa [] is founder and director of the Thai NGO “Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation”, named after two authorities on Thai culture, Sathirakoses and Nagapradeepa... |
Thailand |
1996 | |
Herman Daly Herman Daly Herman Daly is an American ecological economist and professor at the School of Public Policy of University of Maryland, College Park in the United States.... |
United States |
Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia | Russia |
People's Science Movement of Kerala (Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a People's Science Movement of Kerala, India. At the time of its founding in 1962 it was a 40-member group consisting of science writers and teachers with interest in science from a social perspective... ) |
India |
George Vithoulkas George Vithoulkas George Vithoulkas is a teacher and practitioner of homeopathy.He studied homeopathy in South Africa and received a diploma in homeopathy from the Indian Institute of Homeopathy in 1966... |
Greece |
1997 | |
Joseph Ki-Zerbo Joseph Ki-Zerbo Joseph Ki-Zerbo was a Burkinabé politician and writer. He spent his youth in Toma where he grew up in a rural context inside a big family. Ki-Zerbo himself declared that his first 11 years passed in a rural context marked his personality and thoughts. He was recognized as one of Africa’s foremost... |
Burkina Faso |
Jinzaburo Takagi Jinzaburo Takagi was a Japanese assistant professor in nuclear chemistry. He wrote several books on environment protection, and on the threat of nuclear waste. He was given the Yoko Tada Human Rights Award in 1992, and the Ihatobe Award in 1994. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1997, jointly with Mycle... |
Japan |
Mycle Schneider Mycle Schneider Mycle Schneider is a nuclear energy consultant based in Paris, and lead author of The World Nuclear Industry Status Reports... |
Early Modern France |
Michael Succow Michael Succow Michael Succow is a German biologist and ecologist. His numerous publications are mostly devoted to the ecology of moorlands and his typology of moorlands is today used as a standard classifications strategy for moorlands.In 1997, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for his work,... |
Germany |
Cindy Duehring Cindy Duehring Cindy Duehring was an American activist and researcher. In 1985, while studying pre-med in Seattle, WA, Cindy was severely poisoned by a misapplication of pesticides in her apartment. She directed and founded the Environmental Access Research Network which merged with the Chemical Injury... |
United States |
1998 | |
International Baby Food Action Network International Baby Food Action Network The International Baby Food Action Network, IBFAN, consists of public interest groups working around the world to reduce infant and young child morbidity and mortality. IBFAN aims to improve the health and well-being of babies and young children, their mothers and their families through the... |
|
Samuel Epstein Samuel Epstein Samuel S. Epstein is a medical doctor, and currently professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health... |
United States |
Juan Pablo Orrego Juan Pablo Orrego Juan Pablo Orrego is a Chilean environmentalist, president of the activist group Grupo de Acción por el Biobío, which represents the indigenous Pehuenche people in the Biobío Region... |
Chile |
Katarina Kruhonja Katarina Kruhonja Katarina Kruhonja is a peace activist from Osijek, eastern Croatia. She is a director of the Centre for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights, an NGO based in Osijek, set up with the support of Adam Curle. In 1998, she was joint recipient of the Right Livelihood Award along with Vesna Terselic of... / Vesna Terselic Vesna Teršelic Vesna Teršelič is a peace activist who founded the Anti-War Campaign of Croatia. In 1998, she was joint recipient of the Right Livelihood Award along with Katarina Kruhonja of the Centre for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights, Osijek.... |
Independent State of Croatia |
1999 | |
Hermann Scheer Hermann Scheer Hermann Scheer was a Social Democrat member of the German Bundestag , President of Eurosolar and General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy... |
Germany |
Juan Garcés | Spain |
COAMA (Consolidation of the Amazon Region) | Colombia |
Grupo de Agricultura Orgánica | Cuba |
2000 | |
Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher is an Ethiopian who won the Right Livelihood Award in 2000 "for his exemplary work to safeguard biodiversity and the traditional rights of farmers and communities to their genetic resources."Tewolde Berhan graduated in 1963 from Haile Selassie I University Tewolde... |
Ethiopia |
Munir Munir Said Thalib Munir Said Thalib , affectionately known simply as "Munir", was one of Indonesia's most famous human rights and anti-corruption activist... |
Indonesia |
Birsel Lemke Birsel Lemke Birsel Lemke is a Turkish environmentalist.Between 1975 and 1985 she lived in Germany, but then returned to Turkey, where she became member of the Green Party... |
Turkey |
Wes Jackson Wes Jackson -Early life and Education:Jackson was born and raised on a farm near Topeka, Kansas. After earning a BA in biology from Kansas Wesleyan University, an MA in botany from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in genetics from North Carolina State University, Wes Jackson established and served as chair... |
United States |
2001 | |
José Antonio Abreu José Antonio Abreu José Antonio Abreu is a Venezuelan pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician.-Politics and academics:... |
Venezuela |
Gush Shalom Gush Shalom Gush Shalom is an Israeli peace activism group founded and led by former Irgun and Knesset Member and journalist, Uri Avnery, in 1993... / Rachel and Uri Avnery Uri Avnery Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement.A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979–81... |
Israel |
Leonardo Boff Leonardo Boff Leonardo Boff was born 14 December 1938 in Concórdia, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. He is a theologian, philosopher and writer, known for his active support for the rights of the poor and excluded.... |
Brazil |
Trident Ploughshares Trident Ploughshares Trident Ploughshares is an activist anti-nuclear weapons group, founded in 1998 with the aim of "beating swords into ploughshares" . This is specifically by attempting to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system, in a non-violent manner... |
United Kingdom |
2002 | |
Martin Green | Australia |
Kamenge Youth Centre Kamenge Youth Centre Kamenge Youth Centre is a youth centre located in Bujumbura, Burundi. Founded in 1991, the Italian immigrants Claudio Marano, Victor Ghirardi and Marino Bettinsoli had the idea of establishing a place where teenagers could meet in order to live peacefully together in surroundings in which war... (Centre Jeunes Kamenge) |
Burundi |
Kvinna Till Kvinna Kvinna Till Kvinna Kvinna Till Kvinna is a Swedish organization founded in 1993 as a result of the Balkan war. It supports women in war and conflict zones with a strong concentration on the Balkans, but is also active in the Middle East and the Caucasus... |
Sweden |
Martín Almada Martín Almada Martín Almada is a lawyer, writer and educationalist from Paraguay. A noted dissident and human rights activist, he was a prisoner of the Alfredo Stroessner regime.-Biography:... |
Paraguay |
2003 | |
David Lange David Lange David Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a... |
New Zealand |
Walden Bello Walden Bello Walden Bello is a Filipino author, academic, and political analyst. He is a professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman, as well as executive director of Focus on the Global South... / Nicanor Perlas Nicanor Perlas Nicanor Jesus "Nicky"/"Nick" Pineda Perlas, III is a Filipino activist and a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award in 2003. He was a Philippine presidential aspirant for the 2010 presidential elections but lost to Liberal Party's President Benigno C... |
Philippines |
Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice is a citizens' movement in South Korea, which was founded in 1989. The movement works for economic justice, protection of the environment, for the reunification of Korea and for democratic and social development... |
South Korea |
SEKEM SEKEM The organization SEKEM was founded in 1977 by the Egyptian pharmacologist and social entrepreneur Dr... and Ibrahim Abouleish Ibrahim Abouleish Ibrahim Abouleish began his chemistry and medicine studies at the age of 19 in Austria. He did his doctorate in 1969 in the field of pharmacology and then worked in leading positions within pharmaceutical research. During this time he was granted patents for a number of new medicines, especially... |
Egypt |
2004 | |
Swami Agnivesh Swami Agnivesh Agnivesh is an Indian social worker, self-proclaimed Arya Samaj scholar, and a Hindu social activist. He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981... / Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Engineer, an Indian Muslim, is an reformist-writer and activist. Internationally known for his work on liberation theology in Islam, he leads the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra movement. The focus of his work is on communalism and communal and ethnic violence in India and South Asia... |
India |
Memorial Society Memorial society A memorial society can be:*A society established in memory of someone or something, e.g.:**Memorial , an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-USSR states**Sardar Amir Azam Memorial Society... |
Russia |
Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model... |
Nicaragua |
Raúl Montenegro Raúl Montenegro Raúl Montenegro is an Argentine biologist, environmentalist and activist. He has worked as a professor at the University of Córdoba , and at several other educational institutions. In 1982, he founded FUNAM, a grassroots environmental organization, and became its president in 1995... |
Argentina |
2005 | |
Maude Barlow Maude Barlow Maude Victoria Barlow is a Canadian author and activist. She is the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, a citizens’ advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the , which works internationally for the human right to water... and Tony Clarke Tony Clarke (activist) Tony Clarke is a Canadian activist. Born in 1944, he grew up in Chilliwack, British Columbia, graduating from Chilliwack Senior Secondary School in 1962. He was class president. He studied at the University of British Columbia and did graduate work at the University of Chicago, obtaining a PhD in... |
Canada |
Irene Fernandez Irene Fernandez Irene Fernandez is the director and co-founder of the non-governmental organization Tenaganita, which promotes the rights of migrant workers and other oppressed and poor people in Malaysia.... |
Malaysia |
Roy Sesana Roy Sesana Roy Sesana is a Bushman activist who works together with the First People of the Kalahari for the rights of his tribe.-Biography:Sesana lives in New Xade in the central Kalahari and works as a traditional medicine man... and First People of the Kalahari First People of the Kalahari First People of Kalahari is a local Bushman advocacy organization in Botswana, working for the rights of the indigenous tribe of San, that had been forced by the Government of Botswana to resettle to the new built town of New Xade.... |
Botswana |
Francisco Toledo Francisco Toledo Francisco Benjamín López Toledo is a Mexican graphic artist. He studied at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Oaxaca and the Centro Superior de Artes Aplicadas del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico, where he studied graphic arts with Guillermo Silva Santamaria... |
Mexico |
2006 | |
Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,... |
United States |
Ruth Manorama Ruth Manorama Ruth Manorama is widely known in India for her contributions in mainstreaming Dalit issues, especially the precarious situation of Dalit women in India. Ruth, herself from the Dalit community, calls the women "Dalits among the Dalits". However, being of the Christian faith, she cannot be said to... |
India |
Chico Whitaker Chico Whitaker Francisco "Chico" Whitaker Ferreira , is a Brazilian architect, politician and social activist. A devout Catholic, Whitaker inspires his work in the liberation theology, while maintaining close ties with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, a body linked to the National Conference of... |
Brazil |
International Poetry Festival of Medellín | Colombia |
2007 | |
Christopher Weeramantry Christopher Weeramantry Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher Gregory Weeramantry was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka from 1967 to 1972. He was a Judge of the International Court of Justice from 1991 to 2000, and was Vice-President of the ICJ from 1997 to 2000... |
Sri Lanka |
Dekha Ibrahim Abdi Dekha Ibrahim Abdi Dekha Ibrahim Abdi was an ethnic Somali peace activist based in Mombasa, Kenya. A Kenyan citizen, she worked as a consultant to government and civil society organisations.-Personal life:... |
Kenya |
Percy Schmeiser Percy Schmeiser Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan, Canada. He specializes in breeding and growing canola. He became an international symbol and spokesperson for independent farmers' rights and the regulation of transgenic crops during his protracted legal battle with agrichemical company... and Louise Schmeiser |
Canada |
Grameen Shakti | Bangladesh |
2008 | |
Krishnammal Jagannathan Krishnammal Jagannathan Krishnammal Jagannathan is a social service activist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She and her husband, Sankaralingam Jagannathan , have protested against social injustice and they are well known as Gandhian activists... and Sankaralingam Jagannathan LAFTI |
India |
Amy Goodman Amy Goodman Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York... |
United States |
Asha Haji Elmi Asha Haji Elmi Asha Haji Elmi is a peace activist in Somalia who won the Right Livelihood Award in 2008, with three other activists from India, USA and Germany. In September, 2009, she was one of five recipients of the Clinton Global Citizen Award.-Biography:Asha was born in Somalia in 1962... |
Somalia |
Monika Hauser Monika Hauser Monika Hauser is a Swiss-born Italian physician gynecologist and humanitarian. She spent her youth in Switzerland, in the village of Thal, Saint Gallen, in German Switzerland, before leaving Switzerland to continue her medical studies in Innsbruck, Austria.She later established herself in Cologne,... |
Germany |
2009 | |
Catherine Hamlin Catherine Hamlin Catherine Hamlin , AC, MBBS, FRCS, FRANZCOG, FRCOG is an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist who, with her late husband New Zealander Dr. Reg Hamlin, co-founded the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, the world's only medical centre dedicated exclusively to providing free obstetric fistula repair... |
Australia |
René Ngongo René Ngongo René Ngongo is a Congolese biologist, environmentalist and political activist. Ngongo graduated from the University of Kisangani with a Bachelor degree in Biology in 1987... |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
David Suzuki David Suzuki David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001... |
Canada |
Alyn Ware Alyn Ware Alyn Ware is a peace acivist from New Zealand. He is a vice president of the International Peace Bureau, and is engaged with several international organisations working against nuclear weapons. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2009.... |
New Zealand |
2010 | |
Nnimmo Bassey Nnimmo Bassey Nnimmo Bassey is a Nigerian environmentalist activist and poet, elected chair of Friends of the Earth International and Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action. He is one of Time magazine's Heroes of the Environment 2009. In 2010, Nnimmo Bassey was named co-winner of the Right Livelihood... |
Nigeria |
Erwin Kräutler Erwin Kräutler Erwin Kräutler C.Pp.S is an Austro-Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop and the current prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Xingu.... |
Austria Brazil |
Shrikrishna Upadhyay Shrikrishna Upadhyay Shrikrishna Upadhyay is a Nepalese economist. He was the initator of the organization SAPPROS, Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2010.-References:... |
Nepal |
Physicians for Human Rights Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Physicians for Human Rights-Israel , known in Israel as PHR-I, is a non-governmental, non-profit, humanitarian organization based in Jaffa... |
Israel |
2011 | |
Huang Ming | Mainland China |
Jacqueline Moudeina | Chad |
GRAIN GRAIN GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and... |
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Ina May Gaskin Ina May Gaskin Ina May Gaskin, CPM, has been described as "the mother of authentic midwifery."-Family:Gaskin was born to an Iowa Protestant family . Her father, Talford Middleton, was raised on a large Iowa farm, which was lost to a bank not long after his father’s accidental death in 1926... |
United States |
See also
- Right livelihood
- Schock PrizeSchock prizeThe Rolf Schock Prizes were established and endowed by bequest of philosopher and artist Rolf Schock . The prizes were first awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1993 and have been awarded every two years since...
- Polar Music PrizePolar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
- Astrid Lindgren Memorial AwardAstrid Lindgren Memorial AwardThe Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children's literature award, established by the Swedish government in 2002 in honour of the Swedish children's books writer Astrid Lindgren...
- List of prizes, medals, and awards
External links
- Right Livelihood Award - Official site
- Complete list of recipients with descriptions
- Jakob von Uexkull - Founder
- Right Livelihood Laureates Discuss Their Battles for Social Justice - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...