Greta Thunberg Awarded Gulbenkian Prize For Humanity

Teen activist Greta Thunberg recently accepted the Gulbenkian Prize For Humanity which carries prize money of one million euros. Taking to Instagram, Thunberg said, "I'm extremely honored to receive the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity." She indicated that the prize money will be distributed to various organisations and climate projects.

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I’m extremely honoured to receive the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity! We’re in a climate emergency, and my foundation will as quickly as possible donate all the prize money of 1 million Euros to support organizations and projects that are fighting for a sustainable world, defending nature and supporting people already facing the worst impacts of the climate- and ecological crisis — particularly those living in the Global South.
 Starting with giving €100.000 to the SOS Amazonia Campaign led by @FridaysForFutureBrasil to tackle COVID-19 in the Amazon, and €100.000 to the Stop Ecocide Foundation (@ecocidelaw ) to support their work to make ecocide an international crime. @fcgulbenkian #facetheclimateemergency

A post shared by Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg) on Jul 20, 2020 at 3:34am PDT

Further, the eco-warrior added, "We’re in a climate emergency, and my foundation will as quickly as possible donate all the prize money of 1 million Euros to support organizations and projects that are fighting for a sustainable world, defending nature and supporting people already facing the worst impacts of the climate - and ecological crisis - particularly those living in the Global South."

What You Should Know

• Greta Thunberg gets the Gulbenkian Prize For Humanity which carries prize money of one million euros.
• She said she will be donating the prize money to various organisations and climate projects.
• Her global influence got her two Nobel Peace Prize Nominations and inclusion on Time magazine's '100 most influential people in the world' list.

Jorge Sampaio, Chair of the Grand Jury of the Prize, emphasised how Thunberg's work as a climate change activist at a young age has inspired generations. “The way Greta Thunberg has been able to mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists, makes her one of the most remarkable figures of our days,” he said, the official site of the Gulbenkian Prize reported.

It also reported that Thunberg has already donated 100,000 euros to her campaigns like Fridays For Future in Brazil and save the Amazon rainforest.

The Swedish teenager was chosen among 36 nominees (corresponding to 79 organisations and 57 personalities) from 46 different countries.

She recently told

‘We can no longer continue to sweep these things under the carpet,’ activist @GretaThunberg said, calling on leaders to protect the most vulnerable. Read more https://t.co/60vswB5qQS pic.twitter.com/8CC1wod63U

— Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) July 17, 2020 that the aim should be to first accept our responsibilities. "If you're going to get healthy, you have to admit you're sick," said Thunberg in a video. "And that is something that our leaders cannot seem to do today," she adds.

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The 17-year-old grew up in Stockholm, in Sweden. The environmental activist grabbed the spotlight when she protested outside the Swedish Parliament urging all the red-collar workers to take effective measures to solve the climate change problem, in 2018. She wants world leaders to cut carbon emissions and has been criticising them for failing young people.

Recovering from depression

As a child, she was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. In early adolescence, she battled severe depression. Talking about recovering it slowly, she said, “I’ve had my fair share of depressions, alienation, anxiety and disorders,” she had written in a Facebook post earlier. “But without my diagnosis, I would never have started school striking. Because then I would have been like everyone else.”

Greta and her climate change movement

She made headlines when she delivered her fiery speech at the UN climate change summit in New York, last year. “The year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you. Maybe they will ask why you didn’t do anything while there still was time to act. You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes,” she had ">said in her UN speech.

Her global influence got her accolades like two Nobel Peace Prize Nominations (2019 and 2020) and inclusion on Time magazine's '100 most influential people in the world' list, 2019.

Read Also: Greta Thunberg’s Message To PM Modi: Climate Change Serious

Feature Image Credit: BBC

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