Whistleblower Edward Snowden is among a group of tireless and courageous people being honored with this year’s Right Livelihood Award for their efforts “stemming the tide of the most dangerous global trends.”
The winners of this year’s award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, were announced Wednesday.
The Right Livelihood Award Foundation, which stated that it will fund legal support for Snowden, said his honorary award recognizes “his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights.”
The impact of his revelations, the Foundation states, “have caused a worldwide re-evaluation of the meaning of privacy and the boundaries of rights.”
Sharing the honorary award with Snowden is author and editor of the Guardian Alan Rusbridger “for building a global media organization dedicated to responsible journalism in the public interest, undaunted by the challenges of exposing corporate and government malpractices.”
The three others who will share a cash award are climate crusader Bill McKibben, Pakistani human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir, and Sri Lankan human rights activist Basil Fernando.
“This year’s Laureates demonstrate… we can turn the tide and build our common future.”
—Ole von UexkullThe Foundation states that 350.org co-founder McKibben is being honored “for mobilizing growing popular support in the USA and around the world for strong action to counter the threat of global climate change.”
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