...for all the feedback, congratulations and messages of support.
On 29 September, it was announced that GRAIN has been selected as one of four recipients of the 2011 Right Livelihood Award, more commonly known as "the alternative Nobel prize".
The Right Livelihood Award "honours and supports those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today". In their own words, the jury selected GRAIN for its "worldwide work to protect the livelihoods and rights of farming communities and to expose the massive purchases of farmland in developing countries by foreign financial interests". The award will be delivered to the laureates at a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament on 5 December.
We are moved and honoured by this decision. We see it not only as a recognition of GRAIN's work and achievements over the past two decades. We see it also as a recognition of the contributions of countless people and organisations engaged in the struggle against the deepening control of our food systems by corporations and elites, and as an expression of support for genuine community-based food sovereignty. The industrial food system is driving the world further into hunger and environmental collapse. It destroys peoples' lands, cultures and livelihoods to generate extreme profits for a few. Many people know that real alternatives and solutions exist and are fighting for them day by day, in what can seem like an uphill battle. This Right Livelihook Award is, to us, an acknowledgement of the importance of this battle.
Our organisation has been overwhelmed with messages of congratulations and respect, for which we would to like to share our heartful thanks. Many people have said that the award was merited and that they feel part of it. To quote one reaction we got: "This is great, and shows how a small group can make a big difference. This is really an acknowledgement of the struggle of many thousands of us." We hope that many share this perception, and that the award will help us all to make big advances in these struggles.
More information about the award is available at the website of the Right Livelihood Foundation. We will share more about it in December. Until then, feel free to post any message in the "comments" box below.
