OSLO: Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov won the 2021 Nobel Peace prize for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. Maria Ressa is CEO of Philippines based news organisation Rappler while Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov is editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Announcing the award, Nobel Peace Prize committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen said, “Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”
The chair further said that free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public. These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict. The award of the 2021 #NobelPeacePrize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget).
So far the Parliament has recognised 135 people with the prestigious award in the world, of which 17 are women.
It is to be mentioned that Alfred Nobel showed a big interest in social issues and was engaged in the peace movement. His acquaintance with Bertha von Suttner, who was a driving force in the international peace movement in Europe and later awarded the Peace Prize, influenced his views on peace.
Peace was the fifth and final prize area that Nobel mentioned in his will.
The 2021 Nobel Peace prize was awarded to the World Food Programme for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis, which has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener. Meanwhile the Physics Nobel has been awarded with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi for laying the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate and how humanity influences it, as well as revolutionized the theory of disordered materials and random processes.
The Nobel announcements began on Monday with David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian being recognised for their contribution in the field of medicine for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.( India Today)
