Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize (Norwegian, Danish and Swedish: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by the Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. Since 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) 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".

Per Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 1990, the prize is awarded on 10 December in Oslo City Hall each year. The prize was formerly awarded in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law (1947–89), the Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–46), and the Parliament (1901–04).

Due to its political nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history, been the subject of controversies.

List of peace prizes

Under the title of Peace Prize, the following prizes are awarded among others:

Nobel Peace Prize Concert

The Nobel Peace Prize Concert (Norwegian and Swedish: Nobels fredspriskonsert) has been held annually since 1994 on 11 December, to honour the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The award ceremony on 10 December takes place in Oslo City Hall, while the concert has been held at Oslo Spektrum, with the attendance of the laureate and other prominent guests. The Concert is broadcast to a global audience and reaches up to 350 million households in 100 countries.

In 2015 a new distributor was announced and after 20 years at Oslo Spectrum, a change of concert venue was announced. The much larger Telenor Arena. The international entertainment giant IMG lost the job in obtaining sponsors and distribute it. Instead the concert will be produced by the Norwegian event agency Gyro in cooperation with the television production department to Norwegian Warner Bros, the former Eyeworks.

The concert features performers from a wide range of musical genres, the exception being the year of 1995, when a classical concert was held instead. Several editions of the concert are recorded, with different lengths and content, for airing in several countries.

2015 Nobel Peace Prize

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011".

The National Dialogue Quartet was formed in 2013 and comprises four organizations in Tunisian civil society:

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually 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".

Nominations

The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 273 different nominations for the Peace Prize. 68 of these nominations were for organizations and 205 for persons. It is the second highest number of candidates ever, after 278 in 2014.

Peace

Peace is between different social groups and characterized by lack of violence or conflict behaviors, and the freedom from fear of violence. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility and retribution, peace also suggests sincere attempts at reconciliation, the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the establishment of equality, and a working political order that serves the true global interests.

Etymology

The term 'peace' originates most recently from the Anglo-French pes, and the Old French pais, meaning "peace, reconciliation, silence, agreement" (11th century). But, Pes itself comes from the Latin pax, meaning "peace, compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony." The English word came into use in various personal greetings from c.1300 as a translation of the Hebrew word shalom, which, according to Jewish theology, comes from a Hebrew verb meaning 'to restore'. Although 'peace' is the usual translation, however, it is an incomplete one, because 'shalom,' which is also cognate with the Arabic salaam, has multiple other meanings in addition to peace, including justice, good health, safety, well-being, prosperity, equity, security, good fortune, and friendliness. At a personal level, peaceful behaviors are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others' beliefs and behaviors — tending to manifest goodwill.