SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE

SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE

This is the only international peace prize of Australia. The Sydney Peace Prize is awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation associated with the University of Sydney.

The Sydney Peace Prize, a $50,000 prize and a hand-made glass trophy crafted by the Australian artist Brian Hirst, is awarded to an organization or an individual whose life and work has demonstrated significant contributions to:

·         The achievement of peace with justice locally, nationally or internationally

·         The promotion and attainment of human rights

·         The philosophy, language and practice of non violence

The foundation also occasionally awards a special gold medal for significant contributions to peace and justice. There have only been four recipients of this award in the foundation's fourteen-year history: South African statesman Nelson Mandela, 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, and Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange.

1998 – Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank for the poor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient

1999 – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize recipient

2000 – Xanana Gusmão, the poet-artist and president of East Timor

2001 – Sir William Deane, the former Governor-General of Australia

2002 – Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

2003 – Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian academic and human rights campaigner

2004 – Arundhati Roy, Indian novelist and peace activist

2005 – Olara Otunnu, United Nations Under Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict from Uganda

2006 – Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International

2007 – Hans Blix, chairman of the UN Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission

2008 – Patrick Dodson, chairman of the Lingiari Foundation

2009 – John Pilger, Australian journalist and documentary maker

2010 – Vandana Shiva, Indian social justice and environmental activist, eco-feminist and author

2011 – Noam Chomsky, American linguist and activist

2012 – Sekai Holland, Zimbabwean Senator

2013 - Cynthia Maung, Burmese doctor, for "her dedication to multi-ethnic democracy, human rights and the dignity of the poor and dispossessed, and for establishing health services for victims of conflict."

Novelist and winner of Booker Prize (1997) for her novel ‘The God of Small Things’ and human rights activist, Ms. Arundhati Roy was awarded Sydney Peace Prize in 2004, for her contribution to social campaigns, advocacy of non-violence and her opposition to nuclear weapons.