Bangladeshi Dipal Barua receives 'Alternate Nobel'By Alfred de Tavares Stockholm, Dec 8 (IANS) Dipal Barua from Bangladesh and Christopher Weeramantry from Sri Lanka were among the peace and environment activists from four countries honoured with the annual "Alternate Nobel prize". The Right Livelihood awards were given to the activists Friday for their contribution in the fields of renewable energy, peace and fare market practices.Barua, general manager of Grameen Shakti Bank Bangladesh was recognised for his contribution in renewable energy technologies in his country while Weeramantry, a legal scholar and former judge at the International Court of Justice, was awarded for his contribution in peace and conflict resolution. The former jurist shares his award with Dekha Ibrahim Abdhi of Kenya. Percy Schmeiser of Canada was awarded for his commendable work for fare market practices. Barua has been credited for installing more than 120,000 solar home systems in rural Bangladesh. Last year, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Prof. Yunus, the founding member of Grameen Bank, for his contribution to the poor. His bank has been providing micro-credits to millions of poor for livelihood and development projects.Awarding the prize to Barua, the founder of the Right Livelihood awards Jakob von Uexkull said: "It is a fact the future belongs to the renewable energy technologies. Unless this technology reaches to the millions of rural people, who suffer most from the energy crisis, it will not reach its full potential, and neither the economic and social problems of the world will be solved.""We began our project 11 years ago with a few hundred solar cells annually," Dipal Barua, told IANS Friday. "Now we have reached up to 50,000 solar cells being installed every year and (are) growing. We recruit 200 engineers every month in order to cope with the demands. Of an estimated 150 million poor in Bangladesh, 60 percent have no electricity. In rural areas just one in every five homes have access to electricity," he said. "A majority of our people are still dependant on kerosene for their daily needs. This is very dangerous for both people and the environment. Every day as the women do their cooking they inhale harmful gas. By substituting the kerosene with renewable solar energy we can change this situation."Sunlight is not a problem in Bangladesh which remains throughout the year. Moreover, the solar panel itself lasts at least 20 years, while the batteries have to be changed every five years. In order to purchase a solar panel a household can apply loans from the Grameen Shakti bank, which is to help the poor," said Barua."I feel very proud Bangladesh is experiencing such welcome success. Thanks to modern technology. With solar cells we have proved beyond any doubt that it is perfectly possible to produce viable, economic and green electricity," he added."We must resolve the lack of understanding between Islam and Christianity. There is a total ignorance on each side, of the richness and inspirational value of the other, and in fact, a tendency to deride the other," said von Uexkull, after he gave away the award to Weeramantry.Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, who has worked for peace and conflict resolution between Muslims and Christians in Kenya, said: "The participation in a peace process is not about numbers or percentages in relation to who is in majority or minority. It is about plurality, diversity, participation and ownership."Percy Schmeiser, who together with his wife Louise fought against Monsanto's abusive marketing practices in Canada said: "It is our opinion that the full ramifications of allowing patents on plants and other life forms have not been fully examined. But governments from around the world have bowed to the pressure of big multinational corporations who have requested patents on life forms." Indo-Asian News Service For clarifications/queries, please contact IANS NEWS DESK at 91-11-2616-5778/8546, 91-11-2617-3369Direct: 91-11-2610-4655, Mobile: +91-9873188969or mail us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: 'Alternative Nobel' Laureates speaking in StockholmFrom: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:18:01 +0100 'Alternative Nobel' Laureates call for renewable energy to the poor and equal dialogue between Christians and Muslims The Recipients of this year's Right Livelihood Awards (often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prizes') were speaking at a press conference in the Foreign Office Press Room in Stockholm on Thursday morning 6 December 9:30 CET.Christopher Weeramantry (Sri Lanka), a world-renowned legal scholar and former judge at the International Court of Justice, said: "We need to resolve the mutual lack of understanding between the worlds of Islam and Christianity. There is a total unawareness on each side of the richness and inspirational value of the other and in fact a tendency, born of ignorance, to deride the other." Dekha Ibrahim Abdi (Kenya), who has engaged in effective peace work and conflict resolution between Muslims and Christians, said: "The participation in a peace process is not about the mathematics of numbers and percentages in relation to who is in majority or minority. It is about plurality, diversity, participation and ownership of all affected by the conflict ..."Percy Schmeiser (Canada), who together with his wife Louise fights against Monsanto's abusive marketing practices, said: "It is our opinion that the full ramifications of allowing patents on plants and other life forms have not been fully examined. But governments from around the world have bowed to the pressure of big multinational corporations who have requested patents on life forms." Dipal Barua, Managing Director of Grameen Shakti (Bangladesh), which has installed more than 120,000 solar home systems in rural Bangladesh, said: "It is a fact that the future belongs to Renewable Energy Technologies. But unless this technology can reach the millions of rural people who suffer most from the energy crisis, it will not reach its full potential, and neither will the economic and social problems of the world be solved."More information on the 2007 Laureates can be found at:http://www.rightlivelihood.org Award Ceremony on December 7 The Right Livelihood Awards will be presented in the Swedish Parliament on Friday 7 December at 18:00 CET. Speakers:- Birgitta Sellén, Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Parliament- Peter Nobel, member of the Right Livelihood Award's Advisory Council- Jakob von Uexkull, Founder of the Award- The Laureates, introduced by Members of ParliamentA number of seats will be available for the press. Please call us if you would like to attend. A live signal from the Parliament is expected to be offered via the Eurovision network between 17:00 and 18:00 GMT (18:00 to 19:00 CET). There will be a webcast on the website of the Swedish Parliament: http://ripa.riksdagen.se/ripa.fcgi?op=live&stream=live3 Contact To arrange an interview, even radio or TV, please contact us: RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD FOUNDATIONPO Box 15072, 104 65 Stockholm, SwedenPhone: +46 8 70 20 339, Fax: +46 8 70 20 338press @ rightlivelihood.org Edit Profile or cancel your subscription _________________________________________________________________ Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=wlmailtagline
