Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation is calling nomination for the prestigious 17th Seoul Peace Prize. Nomination process shall close on April 30, 2024.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth.
The award was presented to him by the Seoul Peace Prize Foundation at a grand ceremony in Seoul. A short film on the life and achievements of Prime Minister Modi was also screened at the event.
Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude for the prestigious honor and said, “this award belongs not to me personally, but to the people of India”.
“The success that India has achieved in the last five years is due to aspirations, inspiration and efforts of the people of India. On their behalf, I accept the award and express my gratitude”, he said.
The Seoul Peace Prize is an international peace prize established in 1990 to commemorate the successful hosting of the 24th Seoul Olympic Games, held in harmony and friendship in Seoul, Korea in 1988 with the participation of 160 countries from around the world.
For the first time in Olympic history, the Seoul Olympic Games, in which all countries from East and West overcame political conflict and ideological antagonism to participate, promoted an atmosphere of harmony and peace among people around the world, and helped humanity achieve world peace through mutual understanding and cooperation. It was a competition that made me aware of the possibility that something could be done.
In particular, the successful hosting of the Seoul Olympics holds special significance as the people of the Republic of Korea, who have experienced many hardships throughout history, have an unusually strong desire for peace.
The Seoul Peace Prize is an international peace prize established to reflect the aspirations of our people and to leave on this earth our will and belief in longing for human welfare and eternal peace in the world.
Winners of the Seoul Peace Prize are awarded a certificate, a plaque, and a prize of US$ 200,000.
The award certificate is elegantly composed on both sides. The left side uses traditional patterns centered around the symbol of the Seoul Peace Prize to convey a Korean image, while the original text of the award on the right side is written in Korean and English.
The plaque is based on our unique Taegeuk pattern and consists of the same shape in a vertically symmetrical manner, symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang and world peace, and was made of gold-plated brass and crystal.
About Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation
The Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation is based on the basic spirit of the 24th Seoul Olympic Games held in Seoul, Korea in 1988 amidst harmony and friendship among people around the world, and to honor those who have contributed to world peace, reconciliation between nations, and harmony of humanity. It was established as a foundation on June 3, 1992, with the purpose of contributing to the achievement of true world peace pursued by humanity by overseeing the “Seoul Peace Prize” award ceremony.
Past laureate of the Seoul Peace Prize
In 2022, this prestigious prize was given to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist who particularly emphasized the importance of information, saying, “Data is the heart of the future”.
Tim Berners-Lee’s philosophy is that the World Wide Web (www), which he developed, should be open to people all over the world for free, so that anyone can access and use the Web equally without conditions, rather than the Internet used in the past only by experts and a limited number of people. It is called a true ‘digital giant’ that has been emphasizing it for over 30 years.
The World Wide Web, which he developed, is considered a technological revolution, a printing revolution, and an information revolution in the 20th century that revolutionized the quality of our lives without time and space constraints.
He is working to resolve the unequal access and use of the web, which is causing significant inequality not only between individuals but also between companies and countries. In particular, he raises questions about the data monopoly of IT companies, promotes data decentralization, and proposes various policies to realize an equal web.
He also has the philosophy that internet access is a lifeline and should be a fundamental right. On this philosophical foundation, he established a platform for human coexistence through the World Wide Web, and by providing it for free, he sent a message of idealism and altruism.
Due to his philosophy and actions, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is also evaluated as a person who practiced great philanthropy in the 20th century. Ultimately, he guaranteed and expanded individual freedom and equality, which are universal human values, and contributed greatly to increasing the common interests of humanity.
Meanwhile, Tim Berners-Lee expressed concern about the emergence of a large number of negative factors such as hacking, forgery, fake news, and manipulation, which were not greatly considered at the time of the development of the World Wide Web (www) as the web developed in 1989, and suggested Solid as one of the ways to solve this problem.
Tim Berners-Lee guarantees and expands basic individual rights such as individual freedom and equality, freedom of speech, and improvement of individual welfare and quality of life through science and technology, especially informatization, and promotes peace, including the abolition of structural control of personal information. It is contributing greatly to realizing active peace that seeks to remove structural constraints that oppress.
