The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School announces that Kofi Annan and Alice Waters will be their 2008 Global Environmental Citizen Award recipients. The Center presents the award each year to individuals that have demonstrated outstanding achievement in furthering our understanding or raising awareness about the importance of the global environment. Past winners include E.O. Wilson, Harrison Ford, Jane Goodall, Bill Moyers, Al Gore, and HRH Prince Charles.
During his career as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan provided leadership for a number of initiatives recognizing that protection of the environment is fundamental to international development, including the ground-breaking Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. He is the co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Annan is now Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a partnership working across the African continent that aims to dramatically increase the productivity, food security and incomes of small-scale farmers while safeguarding the environment. Mr. Annan also serves as the President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, which brokers partnerships to tackle the humanitarian impact of climate change, such as greater investment in adaptation to protect the vulnerable communities from environmental stress.
Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café in Berkeley, California, is one of America’s most influential chefs, as well as a pioneering advocate for sustainable agriculture and local, seasonal foods. In 1996, she founded the Chez Panisse Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports educational programs that use food traditions to nurture, educate, and empower youth. The Foundation’s primary initiative is The Edible Schoolyard, an organic garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California, where students participate in all aspects of tending the land, harvesting their crops, and preparing and sharing fresh food.
The recipients will be presented with the Global Environmental Citizen Awards during a gala celebration and fundraiser on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 in New York City. The 2008 Corporate Council Award Recipient (to be announced) will also be honored during this event.
