- Title: NORWAY: Malala is Nobel Peace Prize favourite for Norwegian peace institute head
- Date: 4th October 2013
- Summary: OSLO, NORWAY (OCTOBER 4, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OSLO (PRIO) BUILDING PRIO DIRECTOR KRISTIAN BERG HARPVIKEN ENTERING OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRIO DIRECTOR KRISTIAN BERG HARPVIKEN, SAYING: "On top of my list this year is Malala Yousafzai - the Pakistani 16-year-old who had stood up to the right to education for women and girl
- Embargoed: 19th October 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Norway
- Country: Norway
- Topics: People
- Reuters ID: LVA3REP7H1CJH5OU7EA1GL8Y9Z7K
- Story Text: The winner or winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo next Friday, on October 11, and speculation is rife as to who will win the prestigious prize.
This year the Norwegian Nobel Committee received a record amount of nominations for the prize - 209 individuals and 50 organisations.
Director of Oslo's Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Kristian Berg Harpviken has speculated over who will win the prize and this year his favourite is Pakistani education crusader Malala Yousafzai.
"On top of my list this year is Malala Yousafzai - the Pakistani 16-year-old who had stood up to the right to education for women and girls, and for the fight against extremism," he told Reuters.
Second on Harpviken's list are the three Russian dissidents Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the founder of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Svetlana Gannushkina, a long-time rights activist, and Lilya Shibanova, the head of an independent Russian election watchdog.
Harpviken said it was important that the prize was awarded to a civil society activist after last year's award for the European Union.
"After last year's prize to the European Union that it is important for the future reputation of the prize, this after all is the world's most prestigious prize, that it is now awarded to a civil society-based activist who can carry the mantle of the prize in dignified manner."
Harpviken's dark horse this year was Burmese President Thein Sein who has led a transition from decades of military dictatorship.
"He was on my list last year, he is not on my list this year, partly because the Burmese peace process has been stalled and there has been new fighting in Burma. But of course if the committee would want to reward one of what is after all the most promising peace processes unfolding at the moment, Thein Sein could be a possible candidate," he said.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee never reveals its list of candidates but a wide range of officials and organisations from all over the world have the right to submit nominations and many reveal their choices publicly.
The peace prize is one of five awards instituted by Alfred Nobel, the late Swedish industrialist and inventor, and is given to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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