Announcement of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Announcement of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
Hello, this is Chris & Partners.😊 Every October, where does the world's attention focus most? It's likely the announcement of the Nobel Prizes. On the 8th, the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize announcement took place, and the world's interest turned to Norway. We'll look into in what way the award proceeded this year, and who won.🏆
The Nobel Peace Prize
Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, whose ceremonies are held in Stockholm, Sweden, the Nobel Peace Prize—distinctively awarded in Oslo, Norway—is a prize given to those who have contributed to the peace of humanity. The first award was made in 1901, and the first laureates were Henri Dunant of Switzerland, who founded the Red Cross, and Frédéric Passy of France, who founded the International Peace League. The Nobel Peace Prize is also a Nobel Prize that can be won regardless of academic achievement. (However, one must achieve international accomplishments comparable to academic achievement that the whole world can recognize.) There are various kinds of Nobel Prizes, but perhaps because President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 as the first Korean? Among the Nobel Prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize seems to feel the most familiar to us.
Two journalists who defended freedom of expression
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two journalists who have struggled to defend freedom of expression. On the 8th, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, “In recognition of their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace, journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov have been selected as the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates.” It is the first time in 86 years that a journalist has won a Nobel Prize, since Germany's Carl von Ossietzky, who in 1953 exposed the fact that Germany was secretly rearming after World War I. The Nobel Committee said, “Ressa and Muratov waged a courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,” saying they represent all journalists who champion these ideals in a world where democracy and freedom of expression face increasingly adverse conditions.
Changes to the Nobel ceremony
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the scenery of the Nobel ceremony also changed. The Nobel Committee, owing to restrictions in Oslo from COVID, held an online ceremony, and the 2020 Nobel ceremony's scale was greatly reduced. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), selected as the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he could not go to receive the prize because of the COVID-19 situation, and it proceeded in a form where the laureate did not attend in person. Traditionally, the Nobel ceremony was held each year on December 10, split between Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, but last year's ceremony was replaced by an online and TV broadcast, and the laureate lectures and celebratory banquet were also canceled. It was the first such occurrence since 1976, when the selection of laureates was withheld due to a lack of qualified candidates.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic continuing into its second year, the Nobel Foundation, which oversees the Nobel awards, said—considering the still-continuing spread of COVID-19—that this year's 2021 Nobel ceremony would also be held in a contactless online manner, and that, as last year, laureates would receive their medals and diplomas each within their own countries. However, the Nobel Foundation said that in the case of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, it is also leaving open the possibility of awarding the laureates in person in Oslo, Norway. As this December's Nobel ceremony is a global event, many are interested in how it will proceed. It'd be good to watch whether the traditional ceremony returns after the With-Corona declaration, or whether a contactless and hybrid-format ceremony is held, and to grasp the trends of global events.
The importance of peace
To a whole world groaning under the shadow of COVID-19, ‘peace’ is like an indispensable ray of light. Like this year's laureates who have struggled for peace, we should hold awareness of and interest in ‘peace’ without wavering, even amid rapidly changing environments and trends. For this reason, as mentioned in the past UN Day article, peace-themed events are being held in various forms, and this coming November, the 1st Seoul Peace Think-Tank International Conference will be held as an online YouTube video conference.
SPIC 2021
The 2021 1st Seoul Peace Think-Tank International Conference is scheduled to diagnose problems of discrimination and conflict arising in Seoul and across the world, and to open a forum for public discourse to achieve coexistence and peace. The 1st conference is composed of sessions discussing pressing peace, security, and current issues and a Seoul-centered peace initiative—sessions sharing the views of global speakers and the international community and Korea—and it will be held as an online YouTube video conference on Monday–Tuesday, November 8–9, 2021, at the times of Day 1, 18:30–22:30, and Day 2, 19:00–22:30. Using the evening hours, SPIC 2021 how about taking part online to hear, in one place, peace issues of daily life, the Korean Peninsula, and the world, and raising your awareness of peace?
Are you planning a hybrid event? Chris & Partners—partner with us! As a proven PCO that responds flexibly and aptly to clients' needs, we provide tailored services to deliver the best results from the planning stage to the finish—program and content planning, consulting, speaker booking, follow-up, and more.