SWEDEN - The winners of the 1997 Right Livelihood Award (sometimes dubbed the "Alternative Nobel Prize") were honored by the Swedish Parliament, one day before the annual Nobel presentations in December.
Cindy Duehring (US) was awarded the prize for her ground-breaking research on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), a condition to which we are all susceptible as denizens of a chemically contaminated planet. Though severely affected by the illness herself (to the point where she can no longer be exposed to unfiltered air), she has poured her energies into shedding light on the realities of this life-threatening syndrome.
Mycle Schneider (France) and Jinzaburo Takagi (Japan) received the prize for their rigorous work on the hazards of plutonium.
Michael Succow (Germany) was honored for his commitment to the conservation of ecosystems in East Germany and several republics of the former Soviet Union.
Joseph Ki-Zerbo (Burkina Faso) earned the award for his consistent and concerted efforts to record the history of Black Africans, and to strengthen their sense of purpose.
These exemplary individuals embody the ideals of the jury, who reserve the award for those "who are pioneering, or rediscovering, principles and practices rooted in a vision of one humanity, a science of permanence and an ethic of justice and sustainability which accepts our role as caretakers of the planet."
Jakob von Uexkull, writer, philatelist and former member of the European Parliament, founded the Right Livelihood Award in 1980, after liquidating his vast stamp collection. For more information, contact the Right Livelihood Awards Administrative Office, Box 15072, S-104 65 Stockholm, Sweden. Fax: +46(0)8 702 03 38, or Michelle Syverson & Associates, 32 W. Anapamu St. No. 245, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, (805) 687-4542, fax (805) 569-3853. Tax deductible donations may be sent to Friends of Right Livelihood c/o the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 1187 Coast Village, Rd. No. 123, Santa Barbara, CA 93108-2794.
1997 Right Livelihood Award Winners