Nature and Youth (Young Friends of the Earth Norway) has been awarded a special one off prize- the Sophie Legacy Award, recognising the work they do as a youth organisation to protect the environment and empower young people to action. It was delivered to Silje Lundberg, president of Nature and Youth on Tuesday 29th, by the founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben.
The Sophie Prize was established in 1997 by the Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder and his wife Siri Dannevig, in order to inspire people working towards a sustainable future. This is the last year of the prize, and as a special gesture, they have awarded two youth organisations the honour of a Sophie Legacy award.
This extract from the deliverance speech outlines why Nature and Youth have recieved this honour and recognition:
The organization you represent is far older than you. Founded in 1967, it has been educating and mobilizing generations of Norwegian youth to fight for their future. From nature conservation to sustainable food production to green transportation, Nature and Youth has made a decisive impact on environmental politics in Norway.
Today, Nature and Youth enables more than 6,500 people under the age of 25 to involve themselves in the defining struggle of their generation: The fight against climate change. In Norway, this struggle is closely tied to our challenge as a nation: To rid ourselves of our addiction to fossil fuel production.
Nature and Youth has become a driving force in challenging Norway’s oil addiction, mobilizing all over the country to save vulnerable sea areas from oil and gas production. The most important fight of recent years, that you have won again and again, is in Silje Lundberg’s own region of Northern Norway: The areas outside Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja.
In this way, Nature and Youth is a part of the same movement for a shift from fossil fuels that Bill McKibben has inspired in the US and around the world. When the board of the Sophie Prize looked for someone to take the legacy of the prize forward here in Norway, we could think of no better organization than Nature and Youth. We feel confident that you will continue to mobilize new generations of Norwegians to fight for a sustainable future for many years to come.
As you say in Nature and Youth:
«Hvis ikke du – hvem? Hvis ikke nå – når?» Who – if not you? When – if not now?
We want to say a massive congratulations to all our friends at Nature and Youth for this recognition of their work. You continue to be a huge inspiration to all of us at Young Friends of the Earth Europe!