The 2010 Right Livelihood Awards, winners this year include Nnimo Bassey

The 2010 Right Livelihood Awards

The 2010 Right Livelihood Awards: True change starts at the grassroots level!

Jakob von Uexkull, Founder and Co-Chair of the Right Livelihood Awards, noted after the jury decision:

“True change starts at the grassroots level: physicians who did not wait for politicians before acting to end unnecessary suffering in the Middle East; villagers who work themselves out of poverty; and environmental movements which unite the victims of ecological devastation. Combine this work on the ground with targeted advocacy, for example for the constitutional rights of indigenous people, and you understand why this year’s Right Livelihood Award Laureates yet again offer role models, whose work and commitment can be replicated throughout the world.”

The 2010 Right Livelihood Awards go to four recipients who will share the € 200.000 cash award:

Bassey surrounded by journalists during climate talks in Copenhagen, Dec 2009

Nnimmo Bassey (Nigeria) receives an Award “for revealing the full ecological and human horrors of oil production and for his inspired work to strengthen the environmental movement in Nigeria and globally”.

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Kräutler (middle) marching against Belo Monte dam

Bishop Erwin Kräutler (Brazil) is honored “for a lifetime of work for the human and environmental rights of indigenous peoples and for his tireless efforts to save the Amazon forest from destruction”.

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Upadhyay (left) discussing with irrigation user group in Makwanpur

Shrikrishna Upadhyay and the organisation SAPPROS (Nepal) are recognised “for demonstrating over many years the power of community mobilization to address the multiple causes of poverty even when threatened by political violence and instability”.

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Dr. Hassan Matani operating on a Palestinian villager in a class room, Burin village, Nablus district
Picture: Muchamad Abu Ali

The organisation Physicians For Human Rights-Israel (Israel) is awarded “for their indomitable spirit in working for the right to health for all people in Israel and Palestine”.

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