The International Activist Award
Nomination Form for the Year 2009
«Few will have the greatness to bend history itself;
but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and
in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.»
— Robert F. Kennedy
The Gleitsman Program in Leadership for Social Change encourages individual commitment and leadership by recognizing the exceptional achievement of those who have initiated positive social change. We seek those individuals whose vision and courage inspire others to join with them in confronting and challenging injustice.
As we begin our search for nominees for the 2009 International Activist Award, we invite you to advise us of those individuals whose efforts you feel should be recognized.
The 2009 International Activist Award will honor those who have struggled to correct social injustice in the world (US activists are the focus of our award in alternate years). The honorees will receive $125,000 and will receive a specially commissioned sculpture designed by Maya Lin, creator of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. The award is not presented posthumously, nor is it granted to groups or organizations.
Please complete this nomination form and forward it with supporting materials to us postmarked not later than APRIL 17, 2009. The honoree for the 2009 International Activist Award will be announced in the summer of 2009 and must be available to travel to Cambridge, MA for the award presentation in early fall.
We thank you for helping us to reinforce the timeless message that one lone individual can not only inspire profound change, but can motivate others to make a positive difference as well. And in the above quoted words of Robert Kennedy, the sum of those individual acts will, hopefully, help to build a better life for all of us.
International Activist Award Honorees:
1993
• Nelson Mandela, then African National Congress President
• Wei Jingsheng, advocate of democracy in China
• Posthumous Awards in memory of Helen Joseph and Petra Kelly
1995
• Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor independence advocate
• Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, prominent Nazi hunters
1997
• Maria Adela Antokoletz, Argentinean founder of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo
• Muhammad Yunus, founder, Grameen Bank
1999
Advocates for reconciliation in the Middle East:
• Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), Yossi Beilin, Bassem Eid, Yitzhak Frankenthal, Galia Golan, Faisel Husseini, Terje Rod Larsen and Mona Juul, Ahmed Qurie (Abu Ala), Uri Savir and Stanley Sheinbaum, posthumous awards in memory of Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein
2001
• Bernie Krisher, Creator of schools in Cambodia
• Martin Macwan, Advocate of Dalits («Untouchables») Rights
2003
Leaders in the struggle against poverty:
• Fazle Abed, founder of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee)
• Jaya Arunachalam, founder of the Working Women’s Forum
• Roman Imboden, visionary developer of the Multifunctional Platform
• Roy Prosterman, founder of the Rural Development Institute
2005
• Han Dongfang, international advocate of the worker’s movement in China
• Patrick Alley, Charmian Gooch and Simon Taylor, founders of Global Witness
2007
• Sakena Yacoobi, executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL)
FORMER MEMBERS of the INTERNATIONAL ACTIVIST AWARD BOARD OF JUDGES
David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
Dr. Fang Lizhi, astrophysicist and Chinese democracy advocate
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Jacqueline Novogratz, Chief Executive Officer, Acumen Fund
Mrs. Sadako Ogata, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency
Shimon Peres, 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary General of the United Nations
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, 1980 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=200&Itemid=65