“Welcome. Now let’s speculate, dear,” smiled the Nobel Committee’s legendary, recently deceased secretary Geir Lundestad. In characteristic Northern Norwegian, with an open door. He will be missed. We used to drop by his office a few days before the announcement. He was secretary of the committee and director of the Nobel Institute from 1990 to 2014. The Nobel committee’s recently deceased secretary Geir Lundestad. Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / NTB scanpix He knew. We didn’t get to know. But the loud-mouthed, roomy Lundestad liked that there was interest in the prize, and gladly accepted. The preliminary speculation, both at home and abroad, helped to create a frenzy. The Peace Prize 2023? So we speculated, and are still speculating – in Norway and the rest of the world. For 2023, the bookmakers’ favorite is Volodymyr Zelenskyj and the wish of many Norwegians is Jens Stoltenberg, but it is particularly likely not as long as the war rages in Ukraine. Perhaps it is rather the year for human rights and women’s advocates in Iran or Afghanistan? AP Masih Alinejad Iranian-American Masih Alinejad has called on women in Iran to remove their hijabs. Because of her activism, she now lives in exile in New York, where she was the subject of a kidnapping plot uncovered by US authorities in July 2021. AFP Narges MohammadiNarges Mohammadi has long fought for women’s rights in Iran. She calls for the abolition of the death penalty and democratic reforms. She has been in and out of prison and is still in the notorious Evin prison. From there, she has reported on the torture of fellow female prisoners. Reuters Nasrin SotoudehIranian Nasrin Sotoudeh is a well-known human rights lawyer who has defended opposition death row prisoners and activists, such as women accused of going without a headscarf or hijab in public. In 2021, she was on the Times list of the 100 most influential people in the world. AP Fawzia Koofi Fawzia Koofi is a former politician and was vice-president of Afghanistan’s National Assembly. She has lost her husband, father and brothers in the fight against the Taliban. Nevertheless, she believed that a peace agreement was necessary as there were negotiations for a peaceful solution to the conflict in the country. NTB Zarifa GhafariZarifa Ghafari was one of Afghanistan’s few female mayors, appointed at the age of 26. She is an ardent champion of women’s and girls’ rights. When the Taliban took power, Ghafari, like several like-minded people, had to flee Afghanistan. She and her family now live in Germany. AP Sima SamarSima Samar has been one of the leading voices in Afghanistan for women’s rights for 40 years. When she became vice-president and minister in 2002, she was the first woman in such heavy political positions. She has received several awards for her fight for human rights and women’s rights. NTB Hassina SyedBusinesswoman and politician Hassina Syed from Afghanistan fights for women’s rights and was an adviser during the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha. She has, as the only woman, sat in the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and has started a number of businesses. Or the year when the international courts in The Hague are to be honoured. This is the last time the lawyer Berit Reiss-Andersen steps into the lightning rain at the Nobel Institute. She has completed her two periods on the committee. Should the winner be one of the canons on the international scene, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is probably a hot name. Others have also suggested David Attenborough, as part of a climate and environmental award. Win? UN Secretary-General António Guterres Photo: Reuters The value of speculation Speculation in advance is almost a ritual. Thousands of Nobel-related articles have been published around the world in recent days with the Nobel Prize as their theme. The value of the speculation does not lie in whether someone manages to find the candidate before the announcement, but that a focus is seen on commendable peace work around the world. From north to south, east to west. And that conflicts that often get marginal mention are often brought up. For the Nobel Committee, the value of course is that the publicity helps to keep interest up. The world’s most important prize The meeting at Geir Lundestad’s office often started with him fishing down the Encyklopedia Britannica from the rich bookshelf. The internationally recognized historian and Nobel champion proudly came up with the Nobel quote “the world’s most prestigious prize”. The encyclopedia series Encyklopedia Britannica was first published in 1768. Today it is digital. The Nobel year When committee leader Berit Reiss Andersen comes out of the brown door at the Nobel Institute, she has the answer to a process that has been going on for almost a year. Berit Reiss-Andersen speaks in Oslo City Hall. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB It includes the Nobel Committee and experts from home and abroad. The deadline to nominate is before 1 February. After that, the committee’s own members can supplement the list, but only until the first committee meeting around 1 March. No one who is then not on the list can receive the award. Members of parliament and government members at home and abroad, former prize winners, heads of state and a number of university people are among those who can nominate. Facts about the criteria for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize According to Nobel’s will, the peace prize should go to the person “who has worked the most or the best for people’s förrötrande and abolition or reduction of standing armies as well as the formation and spread of peace congresses”. The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a wide range of peace concepts and peace work, but has also been dropped 19 times. This is especially so during periods of major wars. The reason has been that there were no worthy cases or candidates among the nominees. In the first years of the peace prize – until the First World War – the prize often went to pioneers in the organized peace movement. In the interwar period, the focus shifted to active politicians who worked for peace negotiations and international agreements, but there were also awards for humanitarian work (Nansen, the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). After the Second World War, the Peace Prize has mainly praised efforts in four main areas: arms control and disarmament, peace mediation, democracy and human rights, as well as work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world. In the 21st century, the Nobel Peace Prize has also been awarded for work against environmental threats and man-made climate change. Source: NTB Shortlist – the favorites The members of the Nobel Committee have met a handful of times on both sides of the summer. Throughout the spring, the list of possible winners will be reduced from more than 300 nominees to just a handful of candidates. Several of the candidates on this so-called short list have been there for several years. There is no disadvantage. The decision was made at the meeting this side of the summer. Internationally, the announcement of the peace prize every October is the blink of an eye when most people look towards Norway. Until then, only the committee knows who will receive the award. The whole thing will be rounded off with a celebration, ceremony and torchlight procession in Oslo on 10 December. On Alfred Nobel’s death anniversary. A lion for the peace prize Almost two weeks have passed since the news of Geir Lundestad’s death. He was a lion in the fight for the prestige and support of the Peace Prize. It was during his time at the Nobel Peace Center that the peace prize concert took place. These days, articles are being published around the world with speculations about the Nobel Peace Prize. Geir Lundestad has his share of the credit for that.
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This is how the Nobel committee finds this year’s winners (while the world speculates) – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
