Roma Rights, Nuclear Security and Gender Justice on the Agenda of ‘Alternative Nobel’ Laureates in Europe

Internationally renowned experts, scientists and activists in the fields of peacebuilding, human rights, environment, health, consumer protection, nuclear security and social justice will convene near Geneva, Switzerland, from 28 October – 1 November for the first-ever regional conference of the Right Livelihood Award Laureates in Europe.

Among 19 Laureates from 15 countries who are attending the event are:

• The ‘father of peace studies’ Johan Galtung (Norway), who received his Right Livelihood Award in 1987 “for his systematic and multidisciplinary study of the conditions which can lead to peace”.

• Roma rights campaigner András Biró (Hungary), who founded the Hungarian Foundation for Self-Reliance. At 91, he is the oldest Right Livelihood Award Laureate in Europe

• Environmentalist Birsel Lemke (Turkey), who was awarded in 2000 “for her long-standing struggle to protect her country from the devastation of cyanide-based gold mining”.

• Monika Hauser (Germany) whose experience in the Balkan war in the 1990s led her to establish an NGO medica mondiale dedicated to supporting women in conflict zones around the world.

• Russian human rights activists from Memorial and the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers who have documented human rights violations across the former Soviet Union.

A series of events with Laureates open to the public will take place on 31 October:

• Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Europe: Threats, Challenges and Opportunities, in cooperation with Geneva Environment Network;

• From Nuclear Disarmament to Nuclear Security: Implications for Human Security, in cooperation with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy;

• Healing the Wounds: Promoting Access to Health and Gender Justice in Conflict Zones, in cooperation with the Gender Centre at The Graduate Institute;

• On the Road to Transitional Justice: Memorialization in Russia and the Balkans, in cooperation with the Geneva Academy

• Fostering Solidarity for Human Rights, Peace and Justice, in cooperation with the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation.

The Regional Conference of Right Livelihood Award Laureates in Europe will be held at Château de Bossey. This is the fourth in a series of regional conferences co-organised with Church of Sweden. The European conference follows those held in Bogota, Colombia in 2013, Cairo, Egypt in 2014 and Mumbai, India in 2015.

For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:

Xenya Cherny-Scanlon, Director of Communications, Right Livelihood Award Foundation, mobile: +41 76 690 8798, e-mail: xenya@rightlivelihood.org