Sea rescuers, an environmental organization and two African activists – they were all honored with the Right Livelihood Award in Stockholm. The prize was created as an award “for shaping a better world”.
Two organizations and two activists from Africa have received this year’s Right Livelihood Award for their commitment to the environment and the protection of human life and human dignity. The awards were presented to the winners in Stockholm. It was already announced at the end of September who would receive the award this year, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize.
The Right Livelihood Award Foundation presented the award to the European aid organization SOS Méditerranée, the organization “Mother Nature Cambodia”, the women’s rights activist Eunice Brookman-Amissah from Ghana and the Kenyan environmentalist Phyllis Omido. This year’s winners are witnesses to unspeakable suffering and are committed to saving lives, preserving nature and protecting the dignity and livelihoods of people all over the world, according to the foundation’s justification for choosing the winners.
Commitment to the lives of others
SOS Méditerranée is represented in France, Italy and Germany and is financed through donations. The organization’s helpers have so far saved the lives of around 39,000 migrants who got into distress on the Mediterranean, said foundation director Ole von Uexküll.
The doctor Brookman-Amissah was honored because she paved the way for liberalized abortion laws and better access to safe abortions. Brookman-Amissah advocates for legal and safe abortions in Ghana. The foundation emphasized when it announced the award winners in September that its work had significantly reduced the number of deaths related to abortion in the region.
Appreciation for the fight for the climate and environment
The two other prizes were awarded for a decisive commitment to the fight for better environmental protection. Mother Nature Cambodia has been mobilizing young people in the country to protect the environment since 2012. Among other things, the organization prevented the construction of a dam and ensured that the export of sand to neighboring countries was stopped, the mining of which had caused significant environmental damage.
And Phyllis Omido is fighting in Kenya against the environmental pollution caused by the recycling of car batteries – in her home village, many people became ill and died as a result of lead poisoning. After years of protest, a law was passed that led to the closure of 17 recycling plants.
The Right Livelihood Award has been presented annually since 1980 to individuals or organizations – with the aim of recognizing and supporting people who respond in an exemplary manner to humanity’s most pressing challenges. The award is worth around 350,000 euros.
Julia Waschenbach, ARD Stockholm, tagesschau, November 29, 2023 9:13 p.m