“The prize is awarded to Brundtland for her innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development,” said presenter Lee Yuan-tseh, Taiwan’s winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
In 1987, as head of U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development, Brundtland defined sustainable development as that meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
“The watershed concept laid out the scientific and technical challenges for the global community to achieve a better balance of economic development, environmental integrity and social equality,” Lee said.
Brundtland, a three-term prime minister of Norway, is also a former director-general of the World Health Organization. She is currently a special envoy on climate change for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
During her 1998-2003 tenure at the helm of the WHO, Brundtland worked to promote sustainable and equitable health systems worldwide. Under her stewardship, the organization effectively addressed global pandemics such as AIDS, malaria and severe acute respiratory syndrome, Lee said.
Established by Taiwan entrepreneur Samuel Yin in December 2012, the biennial Tang Prize provides a cash prize of NT$40 million (US$1.3 million) and research grant of NT$10 million in each of its four categories.
The winners for biopharmaceutical science, Sinology and rule of law will be announced separately June 19-21 by Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institution and the body responsible for overseeing the selection process. An awards ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Taipei City. (YHC-JSM)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw