The Right Livelihood Foundation honors activists from Ukraine, Somalia and Uganda. In doing so, the foundation is also pointing the way to Russia. Because the Ukrainian award winner is also committed to solving Russian war crimes.
The Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matwijtschuk was awarded this year’s Alternative Nobel Prize for her commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Matviychuk received the award “for building sustainable democratic institutions in Ukraine and shaping a path to international prosecution of war crimes,” according to the Stockholm-based Right Livelihood Foundation. Activists from Somalia, Venezuela and Uganda were also honored with the prize.
As chair of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), which was founded in 2007, Matviychuk is helping to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and state democratic structures and is committed to promoting national and international law, the foundation said in its statement.
It documents human rights violations and war crimes and thus paves the way for social and legal reappraisal, which has been of particularly great importance since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The Venezuelan collective Cecosesola (Central de Cooperativas de Lara) received the award “for the development of a fair and efficient community economy as an alternative to the profit-oriented economic model”. The network of community organizations from low-income regions, which produces affordable goods and services for more than 100,000 families in seven Venezuelan states and provides them at well below retail prices, has grown steadily over the past 55 years and is “an inspiration for all those who seek alternative economic approaches search,” it said.
The Africa Institute for Energy Governance (Afiego) from Uganda received the Alternative Nobel Prize for its commitment to climate justice. The organization supports communities in defending themselves against environmentally harmful projects in oil and gas production. Through lobbying, media campaigns, and local and international legal action, Afiego has ensured that community voices are heard by decision-makers, Right Livelihood said.
Other award winners are the Somali human rights activists Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman – mother and daughter – who support survivors of gender-based violence with their organization Elman Peace, rehabilitate former child soldiers and enable women and young people to receive vocational training and learn leadership skills.
The 2022 award winners will be honored at a live broadcast event in Stockholm on Wednesday 30 November.
The Alternative Nobel Prize recognizes commitment to human rights, freedom of the press, civil liberties and environmental protection. It was established in 1980 by the Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexküll, and the foundation is now headed by his nephew Ole von Uexküll. The award is generally said to have a critical distance to the actual Nobel Prizes. These are to be announced in Oslo next Monday.
The prizes are each endowed with one million Swedish crowns (around 100,000 euros). The money is intended to support the work of the awardees and not for personal use. In 2021, 206 people and organizations from 89 countries were nominated for the award – more than ever before. Previous recipients of the award include former US secret service agent Edward Snowden and environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
