'Alternative Nobel' to human rights and environment campaigners
Play
Stockholm - A female lawyer from Chad, a pioneering midwife from the United States, a Chinese businessman who invests in solar energy and an organisation that opposes so-called land grabbing were Thursday named winners of the Right Livelihood Award for 20
The award, often called the "Alternative Nobel Prize" was announced by the Stockholm-based Right Livelihood Award Foundation.
Jaqueline Moudeina, one of Chad's first female lawyers, was awarded for her bravery in defending human rights, including efforts to bring to justice Chad's former authoritarian leader Hissen Hebre, for crimes committed during his eight-year rule that ended in 1990.
Ina May Gaskin of the US was lauded for advancing simple methods to enhance safe childbirth and the health of women and children.
The non-profit organisation GRAIN - short for Genetic Resources Action International - was cited for its work to protect the rights of small farmers and local communities mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, amid pressures from big corporations and countries that are buying up farmland.
Chinese businessman Huang Ming, sometimes called "the Solar King of China," won the honorary award, receiving special mention for investing in solar water heaters and other renewable energy sources.
The awards - which are not connected to the Nobel Prizes - are to be presented at a ceremony in the Swedish parliament on December 5.
The 2010 award was shared by Nnimmo Bassey of Nigeria, who highlighted devastation caused by the oil industry, Austrian-born Erwin Kraeutler - a Catholic bishop in Brazil - who campaigned for human and environmental rights of indigenous peoples, Nepalese grassroots organisation Sappros (Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal), and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.
