Nominations for the 41st Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, are now open. The Swedish Foundation behind the Award is inviting people from across the globe to propose candidates who are working in a visionary and exemplary manner to solve global problems. The deadline for nominations is March 4, 2020. The Award is set to be presented in December 2020.
“We are seeking new candidates from all walks of life who are practical visionaries – people who are creating structural changes through concrete and successful work. As we maintain an open nomination process, everyone is welcome to propose any individual or organisation they feel live up to this standard,” said Ole von Uexkull, Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Foundation.
The timeline for the 2020 nominations process is as follows:
- March 4: Deadline for nominations
- July: After careful investigation by the Foundation’s research team, reports on the current proposals are submitted to the Foundation’s international Jury
- September: The Jury selects this year’s recipients
- October 1: 2020 Right Livelihood Award Laureates are announced
- End of November/early December: Award Week, including the presentation of the Award in Stockholm, Sweden
Besides the search for this year’s Laureates, the Right Livelihood Foundation is also carrying out a range of initiatives to highlight the work of previous Laureates. In 2020, this includes a series of anniversary conferences with the participation of more than 30 previous Laureates. The conferences will take place with the following themes:
February 20-22 in Bangkok, Thailand: “Education for Right Livelihood to Inspire Change – Connecting Activism and Academia”
March 24-26 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: “Women, Peace and Security”
June 14-17 in Medellín, Colombia: “Inspiring Change through Culture”
Media interested in further information on the anniversary conferences are encouraged to reach out at the contact information listed below.
The Right Livelihood Award is annually presented to four Laureates. Unlike most other international prizes, it has no categories. The Award recognises that, in striving to meet the human challenges of today’s world, the most inspiring and remarkable work often defies any standard classification. Human rights, environment, education, culture and democracy-building are some examples of issues addressed by the Award’s 178 previous Laureates hailing from 70 countries. Previous Laureates include Dr Denis Mukwege (DR Congo), Edward Snowden (USA), Svetlana Gannushkina (Russia) and Greta Thunberg (Sweden).
Read more about the nomination process here. Proposals for the Award must remain confidential. Public disclosure of any proposal will result in disqualification.
