Status: 01.12.2021 6:38 p.m.
The winners of the Alternative Nobel Prize received their awards in Stockholm. The fight against violence and environmental degradation was honored. Prize winners from Cameroon, Russia, Canada and India were delighted.
Two women, a man and an activist group have been awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize for their commitment to human rights, environmental and climate protection. Each of them received around 100,000 euros in prize money. The Right Livelihood Foundation honored activists from Cameroon, Russia, Canada and India.
They received the award “as an honor for their extraordinary and courageous commitment to the rights of women and girls and indigenous peoples as well as for climate protection,” as the organizers announced at the end of September in Stockholm.
Lawyer and climate activist honored
The lawyer Marthe Wandou from Cameroon and Aldepa, an organization she founded, received the award for “creating a model of community-based child protection in the face of terrorist attacks and gender-based violence in the Lake Chad region”. For 30 years she has been campaigning for the rights of children – especially girls. It combats sexual violence, promotes educational opportunities and involves communities and parents in the work.
The Russian climate activist Vladimir Slivyak was awarded “for his long-term commitment to environmental protection”. When the award winners were announced in September, the foundation announced that it had strengthened civil resistance against the coal and nuclear industries in Russia. Sliwjak is a co-founder of the Russian environmental protection organization Ecodefense.
Awards to Canada and India
The Canadian activist was also honored Freda Huson. She is committed to the protection of indigenous groups and receives the award for “her fearless commitment to reclaiming her people’s culture and defending her land against devastating pipeline projects” in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Huson himself is the female head of the indigenous Wet’suwet’en: “Above all, we want to draw attention to the injustices that are happening in Canada, where our indigenous peoples are being forced by the government to leave their lands to make way for industry do, “she says.
The fourth honor went to the Indian activist group Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE). According to the foundation, the association of lawyers receives the award for “innovative legal work with which it supports communities in India in protecting their natural resources and in their commitment to ecological democracy”.
Prize has been awarded since 1980
Against the background of the climate crisis, powerful government and corporate interests and even the terrorist threat, the award winners proved that solidarity is the key to a better future for everyone, the foundation said.
The Right Livelihood Award Foundation has awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize annually to individuals or organizations since 1980. The purpose of the award is to honor and support people who are exemplary in responding to mankind’s most pressing challenges. The prize was originally donated by the journalist and philatelist Carl Wolmar Jakob von Uexküll (77), a former member of the EU Parliament.
The Right Livelihood Award is often referred to in German as the Alternative Nobel Prize. Previous winners include former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden, German politician Petra Kelly, Brazilian liberation theologian Leonardo Boff and Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.