Civil Courage Prize

The Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which recognizes "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk—rather than military valor."[1] The prize was founded in 2000 by the Northcote Parkinson Fund.[1] The goal of the prize is not to create a "ranking", but "to draw attention individually to some extraordinary heroes of conscience."[2] It was inspired by the example of Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn.[3]

Not to be confused with the Courage and Civility Award established by Jeff Bezos in 2021.

History

In 2007, the Northcote Parkinson Fund's name was changed to The Train Foundation in recognition of the contributions of the family of investment advisor John Train, the fund's primary donor.[1][4]

In 2022, the board of trustees consisted of seven members:[2]

  • John Train (chair)
  • George C. Biddle, Trustee and Co-Chairman; Chairman, World Connect (co-chair)
  • Louis N. Bickford, CEO of MEMRIA.ORG (treasurer)
  • Ariadne Calvo-Platero, journalist (president)
  • Musa T. Klebnikov, Paul Klebnikov Fund Executive Director
  • The Hon. Nicholas Platt, Former U.S. Ambassador
  • Ann Brownell Sloane, The Eisenhower Foundation

Since 2000, the foundation has awarded the Civil Courage Prize one or two activists each year.[5] The prize comes with a $25,000 honorarium.[6][3] Nominations are accepted from international non-governmental organizations, while unsolicited nominations are discouraged.[2] The award ceremony is held in New York City or London in October of each year.[3][6][7] Keynote speakers have included British historian Michael Howard,[8] US journalist Jon Meacham,[7] British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd,[8] and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.[8]

Seven posthumous award winners have also been named, ranging from Swedish businessman Raoul Wallenberg, who worked to save the lives of Hungarian Jews during World War II, to Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, assassinated in 2004.[9] In 2004 and 2005, the Foundation also awarded "Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage" to selected prize finalists. The certificates included honorariums of $1,000 apiece.[10]

Honorees
YearHonoreesCountryRef.
2000 Nataša Kandić Yugoslavia [5]
2001 Paul Kamara Sierra Leone [5]
2002 Vladimiro Roca Antúnez Cuba [5]
2003 Shahnaz Bukhari Pakistan [5]
2004 Emadeddin Baghi Iran [5]
Lovemore Madhuku Zimbabwe [5]
2005 Min Ko Naing Myanmar [5]
Anna Politkovskaya Russia [5]
2006 Rafael Marques de Morais Angola [5]
2007 Phillip Buck United States [5]
2008 Ali Salem Egypt [5]
2009 Aminatou Haidar Western Sahara [5]
2010 Andrew White England [5]
2011 Lydia Cacho Ribeiro Mexico [5]
Triveni Acharya India [5]
2012 Yu Jie China [6]
2013 Denis Mukwege Democratic Republic of the Congo [5]
2014 Nicola Gratteri Italy [5]
2015 Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar Guatemala [11]
Claudia Paz y Paz Guatemala [11]
2016 Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently Syria [12]
2017 Pierre Claver Mbonimpa Burundi [13]
2018 Vladimir Kara-Murza Russia [14]
2019 Gonzalo Himiob Venezuela [15]
2021 Erik K. Ward United States [16]
2022 Alexei Navalny Russia [17]

Posthumous honorees
HonoreesYear of deathCountryRef.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1945 Germany [9]
Giovanni Falcone 1992 Italy [9]
Abdul-Latif Ali al-Mayah 2004 Iraq [9]
Rosemary Nelson 1999 Ireland [9]
Munir Said Thalib 2004 Indonesia [9]
Neelan Tiruchelvam 1999 Sri Lanka [9]
Raoul Wallenberg 1947 Sweden [9]

Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage
HonoreeYear of deathCountryRef.
2004 Dan Que Nguyen Vietnam [10]
Arnold Tsunga Zimbabwe [10]
Raphael Wakenge Democratic Republic of the Congo [10]
2005 Rajan Hoole Sri Lanka [10]
Kopalasingham Sritharan Sri Lanka [10]

References
  1. "Civil Courage Prize". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  2. "About Us: The Train Foundation". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  3. "Egyptian Playwright Awarded Prize for Fight for Peace". Fox News. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  4. Mike Collett-White (November 19, 2008). "Egypt author Ali Salem receives courage award". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  5. "Honorees". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  6. Hsiao Boa-hsiang and Sofia Wu (July 17, 2012). "Chinese dissident writer wins Civil Courage Prize". FocusTaiwan. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. "Canon Andrew White Wins 11th Annual Civil Courage Prize". ReligionWriters. October 12, 2010. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  8. "Remarks by Keynote Speakers". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  9. "Posthumous Recognition". Civil Courage Prize. 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  10. "Certificates of Distinction in Civil Courage". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  11. "Guatemalans Yassmin Barrios and Claudia Paz Y Paz Win 2015 Civil Courage Prize For Their Pursuit of Justice and Human Rights". Civil Courage Prize. October 12, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  12. "2016 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
  13. "2017 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  14. "2018 Civil Courage Prize Honoree". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  15. "Honorees". Civil Courage Prize. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  16. "Laureates".
  17. "Alexei Navalny of Russia". Civil Courage Prize. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
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