The Bertelsmann Stiftung has awarded this
year's Reinhard Mohn Prize to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former
secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. Annan accepted the
€200,000 award on Thursday from Liz Mohn, vice-chair of the Bertelsmann
Stiftung Executive Board.
With the award, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is
honoring Annan for his exemplary efforts to promote sustainable
development around the world. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude
Juncker gave the keynote address in the Stadttheater Gütersloh before an
audience of 500 guests.
According to the award citation, thanks to Annan's
efforts, many forward-looking initiatives in the political, business and
social spheres are now taking place locally, nationally and globally to
promote sustainable development and intergenerational justice. In many
cases, these initiatives are operating within frameworks that were
initiated and expanded during Annan’s tenure as UN secretary-general.
With German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and German
Economics Minister Philipp Rösler in attendance, Annan's commitment to
realizing the UN Millennium Development Goals and the UN Global Compact
were singled out for praise at the award ceremony, as were the series of
global summits dedicated to the topic of sustainable development. Annan
has remained committed to the topic of sustainability even after
leaving the political sphere, for example by founding the Kofi Annan
Foundation and participating in the Alliance for a Green Revolution in
Africa (AGRA).
In his remarks, Juncker noted that Annan’s efforts to promote
sustainability have been a key part of his life’s work. "Sustainability
is not just a fashionable buzzword. It means leading a life,
professionally and personally, that takes responsibility for the world
of tomorrow by networking and thereby creating a world community, as a
way of addressing the holistic realities of today. Sustainability thus
becomes part of the goodwill people are increasingly showing each other
all around the globe," he said.
Speaking of Annan's life work, Liz Mohn said, "Sustainability is
nothing less than the attempt to create a just and humane world –
between nations, within societies, across generations and, as a result,
for each individual person. For decades Kofi Annan has exhibited great
commitment and expertise in achieving these goals on an international
scale."
Aart De Geus, chairman and CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, spoke of
the opportunities that the topic of sustainability offers to Germany in
particular. "If, as an industrial nation, Germany dedicates itself to
the principle of sustainability, thereby ensuring the future of coming
generations and contributing to global participation, it would serve as a
global role model," he said.
An international study carried out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung for
this year's Reinhard Mohn Prize examined successful sustainability
initiatives in 35 countries to show how economic, environmental and
social considerations can be reconciled. A conference of international
policymakers and experts, including former Finnish President Tarja
Halonen, OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yves Leterme and North
Rhine-Westphalia's Environment Minister Johannes Remmel, convened at the
Bertelsmann Stiftung the day before the award ceremony to discuss
findings from the study.
The study identifies a number of key success factors, including
setting clear sustainable development goals at the national level,
anchoring programs stemming from those goals in the relevant
institutions, ensuring political leaders are willing and able to provide
support for the goals, and carrying out innovative pilot projects.
According to the study, not only would that give policymakers clear
targets to aim for – targets that would endure from one legislative
period to the next – it would also speed up decision-making processes
and provide the public with better information.
The Reinhard Mohn Prize is given every two years in memory of the
Bertelsmann Stiftungs late founder, who died in 2009. To award the
prize, an international search is carried out to identify and honor
innovative responses to pressing political and social issues. The winner
receives €200,000, which Annan will be donating to the Kofi Annan
Foundation to support its work in the areas of global governance and
sustainable development.
Source: Bertelsmann-stiftung.de
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