THE SHORTLIST FOR the Tipperary International Peace Award has been announced.
The award, which has previously been awarded to Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Pakistani activitst Malala Yousafzai, has been awarded since 1984 by the Tipperary Peace Convention with the focus on promoting values of peace and peaceful co-operation.
The shortlist, which was announced on New Years’ Day, includes a number of groups individuals who have worked both nationally and internationally to promote values of peace.
Nominees
In total the shortlist is made up of five nominees. It is hoped the prize will be awarded in the early summer.
This year’s shorlist are:
San Aung has been imprisoned six times in the past forty years for his activism in Burma and has experienced constant harassment and persecution on account of this.
Tomi Reichental has been based in Ireland since the 1960s and has travelled to schools around the country talking about his experience during the war. He has written a book ‘I was a boy in Belsen’ in which he recounts his time in the concentration camps.
Médecins Sans Frontiéres – or Doctors Without Borders – have been operating since 1971 to provide emergency medical care in countries with the most need. This year they have played a vital role in combating the spread of Ebola is west Africa.
The award
An exact date for its being awarded has not yet been announced. The recipient of the prize will travel to Tipperary to receive it – and its awarding is generally fixed for convenience with the winner’s schedule.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie about the award, the Tipperary Peace Convention’s Honorary Secretary, Martin Quinn, said:
I feel the award is hugely important. Over the years it has been awarded to many different people working at the coal front – it has made a huge impression. That recipients travel from all over the world to collect it says a lot about the award.
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