A Press Release from Asia Press Office, The Right Livelihood Award Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’) from China, Japan, and India are traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal, next week to share their expertise and support Laureate ShrikrishnaUpadhyay, SAPPROS-Nepal, and all of their partners for the ‘Make Nepal Green’ initiative.
This consists of a realizable vision of a ‘Green Nepal’, one that combines rural rejuvenation with renewable energy and organic farming with information technology, with the goal of fostering prosperity, advancing sustainable development, and strengthening local communities in addition to the Nepali nation as a whole.
“All the Laureates are coming together to express solidarity [to] the cause of Green Nepal. They have their respective strengths in promoting organic agriculture, solar energy, and energy efficient building, which is relevant to the current agenda of ‘Making Nepal Green’”, said Upadhyay.
There is already palpable excitement about the presence of inspirational Chinese solar entrepreneur Huang Ming, who was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2011. He will join LobzangTsultim of India’s Ladakh Ecological Development Group (RLA, 1986) and Koichi Kato, President of Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Co-operative Union (RLA, 1989), where they will brainstorm with bankers, policymakers, diplomats, and civil society representatives.
Outcomes of this high-level meeting will include the drafting and signing of the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ and the creation of a ‘Make Nepal Green Fund’. Laureates will then proceed to areas near Pokhara to examine renewable energy, eco-tourism, and organic farming initiatives and discuss ways in which they can be upscaled across Nepal.
In anticipation of his travel to Nepal, Koichi Kato has said, “Make Nepal Green is an initiative of Nepalese co-operatives. As a consumer’s co-operative in Japan, we look forward to sharing experiences with our colleagues in Nepal to make our local communities more sustainable.”
Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Co-operative Union, awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1989 for “creating the most successful, sustainable model of production and consumption in the industrialised world”, has only grown in strength since. Elaborating on the expertise they bring, Koichi Kato said:
“We work closely with farmers in Japan. Consumers and farmers work together to have a sustainable production of food. We respect each other and follow our strict safety and environmental standard. We hear that Nepal has a goal to become 100% organic. It would be great if we could share our experiences of consumer-farmer collaborations for a sustainable way of living.”
The success of Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) will interest the Nepali people, as the Group has combined community empowerment with adoption of renewable technologies suited to their Himalayan geography.
“From Ladakh we would share LEDeGs efforts in renewable technology solutions for space heating and various other applications for reducing emission level, promoting and improving livelihoods of the people, and organic farming”, said LobzangTsultim.
The seminar will take place at the Hotel Radisson on February 22 and 23.
Founded in 1980, the Right Livelihood Awards are presented annually in the Swedish Parliament and are often referred to as ‘Alternative Nobel Prizes’. They were introduced to “honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today”. There are now 162 Right Livelihood Award Recipients from 67 countries.
Contact: Karan Singh, Asia Press Office
Right Livelihood Award Foundation
Skype: karansinghhk
Mobile: + 977 9823129732 / +852 6902 5325
Office: +852 2695 6523
Email: press-asia@rightlivelihood.org
