The announcement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on the Peace Prize is an event highly anticipated each year by millions around the world.
It’s easy to see why: the names of previous Nobel Peace Prize recipients include the likes of Malala Yousafzai, President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and the 14th Dalai Lama.
So who will be the winner this year? And what impact can it have on those who are receiving the Prize?
351 candidates were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, according to the Nobel committee – the second highest number ever. And this time, all bets are on figures such as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, or Uyghur scholar Ilham Toti, also serving a prison sentence, in China.
But Henrik Urdal, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, sees it differently. As is an annual tradition at PRIO, he has published his shortlist of who should get the Prize, with a focus on human rights defenders and activists.
Although PRIO is not part of the Nobel Committee and does not officially nominate laureates – its shortlist is independent, research-based, and widely respected.
Henrik joins host Arnaud Siad alongside David Beasley – the former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the organization in 2020.
