Nobel Prize winners gather to select the 2018 Business for Peace Award Honourees
Tuesday, 20 February 2018 16:25
Nobel laureates in Peace and Economics gathered in London last week to select the 2018 Oslo Business for Peace Award Honourees. Ms. Ouided Bouchamaoui, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Professor Finn Kydland, Ms. Leymah Gbowee, and Professor Eric Maskin – the independent Award Committee – are all outstanding role models within their respective fields, with a passion for improving society driving their endeavours. The Committee met at the Norwegian Embassy to select Honourees who share the same commitment to tackling global challenges through positive business leadership.
Professor Maskin is the newest member of the Committee. He takes over for Michael Spence and brings his highly relevant expertise to the group. The Harvard professor specialises in mechanism design theory, a type of game theory used to build societal institutions that align individual incentives with overall societal goals.
The Foundation is proud to have an independent Committee of Nobel laureates evaluate the candidates and select the winners of the Award each year. Their involvement adds momentum to the businessworthy movement, aiming to redefine the concepts of success and value-creation in business.
The idea is to have the foremost individual representatives of the global society recognising the foremost representatives within business.
– Per L. Saxegaard, Founder
The Founder of the Business for Peace Foundation, Per L. Saxegaard, explains the vision behind the Committee in the following way: “The idea is to have the foremost individual representatives of the global society recognising the foremost representatives within business.”
When discussing the 2018 Award Nominees, Professor Maskin highlighted the potential that lies in promoting business leaders who choose to act businessworthy: “I’d like to see the Oslo Business for Peace Award continue to highlight businesses and business people who are doing more than making a lot of money, showing how a successful business can operate in a way that is ethical and that also contributes something really significant to society.”
Telling the stories of leaders who combine profit and purpose proves that it is possible to align these joint aims, and that we must do so if we are to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The names of the 2018 Honourees will be announced on 20 March in Oslo. The announcement will be live-streamed for international audiences as well.
I’d like to see the Oslo Business for Peace Award continue to highlight businesses and business people who are doing more than making a lot of money, showing how a successful business can operate in a way that is ethical and that also contributes something really significant to society.
– Professor Eric Maskin