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The recipients of the Award, often known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize,' are:
Herman Daly (USA), ecological economist, whose work provides a profound challenge to conventional economic wisdom;
George Vithoulkas (Greece), who has made an oustanding contribution to the reivival of classical homeopathy;
Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishat (the people's science movement of Kerala State -- India), which has made a crucial contribution to Kerala's successful people-centered development;
the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, whose members have campaigned for humane conditions in Russia's armed forces and made courageous efforts to end the war in Chechnya.
Herman Daly receives the Honorary Award. The other three recipients will share the cash award of USD 250.000. The Right Livelihood Awards will be presented at a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament on December 9th, the day before the Nobel Prize presentations.
In making this year's awards, the Right Livelihood jury honours the winners with the following citations:
Herman Daly: "for his dedication, in spite of unremitting hostility from the conventional mainstream of his profession, in formulating an economic approach that integrates the key elements of ethics, quality of life, environment and community, in contrast to the mainstream obsession with quantitative economic growth and free trade."
George Vithoulkas: "for his outstanding contribution to the revival of homeopathic knowledge and for his tireless efforts in training homeopaths to the highest standards, so that homeopathy can claim a place in science as an effective alternative to other medical schools and traditions."
Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishat: "for its major contribution to a model of development which, unlike the dominant contemporary process of free market globalisation, is rooted in social justice and popular participation, and has made dramatic achievements in health and education."
Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia: "for their courageous and exemplary initiative in asserting and acting on the common humanity of Rus- sians and Chechens in opposition to the militarism and violence that has useless- ly claimed so many lives."
A Press Conference will be held in Stockholm with the recipients on Thursday, December 5th 1996.
Further information and photos of the 1996 Award recipients, including contact addresses.
Right Livelihood Award
Kerstin Bennett, Administrative Director
Telephone: +46 (0)8-702 03 40
Fax: +46 (0)8-702 03 38
E-mail info@rightlivelihood.se
By 1976 KSSP had a membership of 2,600 and was beginning to gain a national profile. The following year it started to organise All India Workshops for science activists. In 1987, at one of these workshops, the All India People's Science Network was born. People's Science Movements, inspired by KSSP, have now sprung up all over India.
KSSP now has 60,000 members organised in 2,100 units and is engaged across the whole range of development issues, including:
Education: 10,000 of KSSP's 60,000 members are teachers. KSSP is com mitted to raising both the standards and the commitment of teachers, and the achievement and enjoyment of learning of students. It runs in-service teacher training, assesses curricula and textbooks, promotes pedagogic innovation, publishes science books and journals for children and runs massive Children's Science Festivals and Teacher Exchange Programmes. KSSP was a major force behind the total literacy programme through which Kerala achieved total literacy by 1991.
Environment: One of KSSP's objectives in this area is to raise the envi ronmental awareness level of the entire Kerala society, through campaigns, education, popularising good environmental practice (e.g. in agriculture through agroforestry). KSSP was heavily involved in the successful campaign to conserve the Silent Valley forest.
Development: KSSP has been involved in building up models of sustain able development, campaigning for decentralised democracy, initiating local field experiments and empowerment initiatives, analysing the 'Kerala model' of development (high human development despite low income) and seeking its improvement, and publishing studies of development. Statistics showing Kera la's extraordinary achievement in human development relative to the rest of India, other low income countries and the United States, are given in the table below.
Energy: Kerala is a fuel-deficient state, and KSSP has instigated several practical conservation campaigns. Half a million homes have installed its high- efficiency wood-burning stoves, saving an estimated 0.6-0.8 million tonnes of firewood per annum. KSSP also has a programme to replace a substantial por- tion of 20 million 60W light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, and is helping local governments to install small-scale hydro stations.
Health: KSSP's major thrust in this area is to reduce poverty- and envi ronment-related mortality, through a minimum nutrition programme for preg- nant women and children under 12, and a programme for safe drinking water and a clean environment. KSSP campaigns for people-centred health policies, rather than the drug-centred ones that tend to be promoted by pharmaceutical corporations, on the basis of in-depth scientific studies.
Women's Issues: KSSP has formulated a number of women-led, women- focused programmes, including study and leadership camps, science festivals, legal rights groups and campaigns against alcoholism and the abuse of women.
Communication: This is perhaps the area of KSSP's most astonishing success. KSSP is India's largest science publisher, having published 600 books and producing 30-40 new titles per year. In 1994 its income from this activity was Rs. 2.4 million, nearly 90% of its total income (KSSP receives no foreign aid). Much effort goes into selling the science books from house to house, a kind of fundraising pedagogy. In addition, KSSP excels in other communication media, with massive lecture campaigns and the development of an entirely new theatre medium, 'Kala Jatha' or 'Art Caravan', through which it pursued the mass campaign for literacy, which reached 60-70 million people through 6-8 million volunteers. The Jathas also campaign against pollution, deforestation, corrup- tion, commercialism and for environmental protection, self-reliance and decen- tralisation.
Research & Development: KSSP's Integrated Rural Technology Centre (ITRC) receives Rs.1.5 million per year from the national government to work in the areas of energy, housing, local level planning and income-generating tech nologies. IRTC's funds are separately accounted from KSSP's.
KSSP's leaders are highly effective and committed people. Its State Executive Committee has 65 members, many of whom are among Kerala's leading intellec tuals and professionals, who include:
Dr. M.P. Parameswaran, a former nuclear engineer who has been active in KSSP since 1966 and has worked full-time in the science movement since 1975. He was Founder-President of the All India People's Science Network and Founder Secretary of the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (the literacy campaign's national body).
Prof. E.K. Naraynan, a Professor of Physics, Christ College, currently KSSP's General Secretary.
Prof. P.K. Ravindran, Professor of Chemistry, Maharajas College, currently KSSP's President.
At local levels there are more than 10,000 office bearers.
KSSP has received a number of awards, including UNEP's Global 500, the Vriksha Mitra and the King Sejong (UNESCO) award.
Comparison of Various Indicators, 1991:
Indicator Kerala India Countries USA
lowincome
Per capita GNP (USD) 298 330 350 22,240
Adult literacy rate (%) 91 52 55 96
Life expectancy
(in years) (men)69 60 55 76
(women)72
Infant mortality rate
(per 1000) 17 85 91 9
Birth rate (per 1,000) 20 31 38 16
Contact addresses:
Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishat Tel. +91 (0)487 381084
Parishat Bhavan, Guruvayur Road Fax. +91 (0)487 331505
Thrissur - 680 004
Kerala State, India
General Secretary (home) Tel. +91 (0)488 823575
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