Read more: Greta Thunberg to UN: 'You've stolen my childhood with your empty words'. ", Davi Kopenawa Yanomami has long been committed to protecting indigenous rights and land.

It has come at just the right time. The Nicaraguan-born human rights advocate was honored for "her dedicated commitment and campaigning for human rights, social justice and environmental protection.". Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg was named on Wednesday as one of four winners of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize. GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2A Davi has frequently been threatened by the gold miners and politicians who target the resources inside the Yanomami territory. The prize differs significantly from the Nobel Prizes: Jakob von Uexküll, a philanthropist, sold his stamp collection worth one million US dollars, which provided the initial funding for the award. However, the Right Livelihood Award is sometimes popularly associated with the Nobel prizes.

Could a win bring the pseudonymous Elena Ferrante, also nominated, out into the open? The other laureates: Johan Galtung, the Chipko movement, Mordechai Vanunu and German physicist Hans-Peter Dürr of the Global Challenges Network. The Amazon is burning, and the world is worried about the effects the burning rainforest will have on the climate. Over the last four decades, 174 people from 70 different countries have been awarded the prize. German-Swedish writer Jakob von Uexküll thought there weren't enough Nobel Prize categories to truly address the challenges faced by humanity. Aminatou Haidar (Western Sahara): for her steadfast nonviolent action, despite imprisonment and torture, in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. The Alternative Nobel: ... Last modified on Wed 21 Aug 2019 07.59 EDT. The ceremony took place in Stockholm and was the final event of a 10-day long programme of celebrations in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. They trust me and Hutukara and those who defend the forest and Planet Earth. Her enduring stamina and nonviolent protests earned her the moniker "Gandhi of Western Sahara. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is without a doubt the most well-known of the 2019 laureates. In August 2018, the then 15-year-old started a solitary school strike in front of the parliament building in Stockholm a few weeks before elections. His father in law, Lourival, was one of the oldest and most respected Yanomami shamans. Subsequently Survival organized Davi’s first trip to the USA in 1991, where he met the then-UN Secretary General, members of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and American senators to raise awareness of the impending genocide of the Yanomami, as gold miners flooded into their rainforest bringing deadly epidemics and chronic violence. The prize has been awarded to a diverse group of people and organisations, including Wangari Maathai, Astrid Lindgren, Bianca Jagger, Mordechai Vanunu, Leopold Kohr, Arna Mer-Khamis, Felicia Langer, Petra Kelly, Survival International, Amy Goodman, Catherine Hamlin, Memorial, Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg, and Greta Thunberg. The Swedish author, beloved around the world for her children's books, was handed the award for" her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality." Renowned Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa, the “Dalai Lama of the Rainforest,” received this year’s Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” this Wednesday (Dec 4th). The other laureates were Congolese biologist Rene Ngongo, New Zealand peace educator Alyn Ware and Australian obstetrician Catherine Hamlin. Stephen Gaskin, founder of the non-profit Plenty International relief agency, was chosen for "caring, sharing and acting with and on behalf of those in need at home and abroad.".

Other 2019 Right Livelihood Award awards were also given to: Aminatou Haidar of Western Sahara, Guo Jianmei of China and jointly to Davi Kopenawa and the Hutukara Yanomami Association … Increasing destruction and deforestation for agricultural purposes poses a threat to the environment, but also to the livelihood of the indigenous people. Presented by Karen Tse, Founder and CEO, International Bridges to Justice. She has since become the face of a generation who view climate change as an enormous threat to their future. Read more: Two years, two months and nine days in hell. [13] Like the Nobel Economics Prize, this would have been possible with an amendment to the Nobel Foundation statutes and funding of the prize amount completely separate from Nobel's fortune.

“I trust Survival International’s work very much. The international award, widely known as the "alternative Nobel Prize," was established in 1980 to "honor and support courageous people solving global problems." He also plays a crucial role in bringing different indigenous groups together to protect themselves from exploitation. ", The jury said she was chosen to for her "steadfast nonviolent action, despite imprisonment and torture, in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. [16], From 1980–2019, the foundation presented awards to 178 Laureates from 70 countries. Auditorium Ivan Pictet, Maison de la paix, Geneva Join us in celebrating the 2019 Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, and their inspiring solutions to some of the most urgent challenges of our time. So in 1980, he founded the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "alternative Nobel Prize.". She is also co-founder and president of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) humanitarian organization. World-renowned artists such as José González and Ane Brun were among the night's performers. Some of the miners are just a few miles from uncontacted Yanomami communities. 1989. She received the award for "forging and implementing a new vision uniting ecological concerns with disarmament, social justice and human rights." I can’t wait to see who they end up with. Kopenawa belongs to the Yanomami tribe, one of Brazil's most populous indigenous tribes with some 35,000 members. DW takes a closer look at the people who have inspired millions. 30th Right Livelihood Awards: Wake-up calls to secure our common future. Servol, Hanumappa Sudarshan and Ken Saro-Wiwa also won the 1994 prize for their dedication in their various fields. Sign up for the newsletter here. Introductory remarks by Kate Gilmore, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. Guo received this year's award "for her pioneering and persistent work in securing women's rights in China. The threat to this area remains acute. The Nobel Prize amount was 880,000 Swedish kronor at that time,[14] which corresponded to 195,000 US dollars. Renowned Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa, the “Dalai Lama of the Rainforest,” received this year’s Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” this Wednesday (Dec 4th).The ceremony took place in Stockholm and was the final event of a 10-day long programme of celebrations in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. Davi led his people’s 20-year campaign to protect their Amazonian territory. The Turkish daily Cumhuriyet won the award for its "fearless investigative journalism and commitment to freedom of expression in the face of oppression, censorship, imprisonment and death threats." A group of Swedish Parliamentarians from different parties host the ceremony; in 2009 European Commissioner Margot Wallström co-hosted the ceremony.

+ 41 22 908 57 55, Auditorium  Ivan Pictet, Maison de la paix, Geneva. An exploration of Yanomami cosmology, as well as a deeply moving account of his people’s struggle to survive epidemics and violence, it was described by Survival’s Director Stephen Corry as “one of the most important books of our time.”. Thunberg has been awarded "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts.". - Survival’s Media Kit contains a bio, photos, video and more. The Syrian Civil Defense, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina and Egyptian feminist Mozn Hassan with the Nazra for Feminist Studies organiszation were also laureates last year. [17] Its self-described purpose is to bestow prizes and thus publicize the work of recipients' local solutions to worldwide problems.

So in 1980, he founded the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "alternative Nobel Prize."