NEXT week’s Nobel Prize announcements will crown achievements that made the world a better place, a glimmer of optimism amid a spiralling Middle East conflict.
The prize winners will be announced between 7 and 14 October.
For the Peace Prize, the most prestigious of the six Nobels, experts say it is harder than ever to predict the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s pick, to be revealed on 11 October. Swedish philanthropist Alfred Nobel created the prizes in his 1895 will, s t i p u l a t i n g that they go to those who have “conferred the greatest benefit on humankind”.
But given the bleak state of world affairs, perhaps no one should get the Peace Prize this year, suggested Dan Smith, the head of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“Maybe this is the time to say, ‘Yes, many people are working very hard, but it’s not getting there and we need more people and world leaders to wake up and realise that we are in an extremely dangerous situation,’” he said. Not awarding a Peace Prize would be viewed as an acknowledgement of failure by the award committee, and is therefore deemed unlikely.
A total of 286 nominations are known to have been submitted for the Peace Prize this year, though the committee keeps the names sealed for 50 years. Those entitled to nominate are however allowed to reveal their picks.
AFP
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