| Foundation Background The Mansholt Prize Foundation: Dedicated To Developing Sustainable Agriculture The independent Mansholt Prize Foundation is dedicated to the development of sustainable agriculture through honouring people or organizations working to accomplish the ideas and dreams of Sicco Mansholt (1908-1995), one of modern Europe's founding fathers and its foremost agricultural leader. Established in 1996, one year after Mansholt's death, the Amsterdam-based Foundation is funded by grants from the European Commission, various Dutch government agencies, as well as a number of Dutch companies, among them ABN-Amro Bank, Rabobank and Heineken Breweries. The first Sicco Mansholt Prize was presented on November 7, 2002 in Brussels by European Commission President Romano Prodi to the international Slow Food Movement. The 25,000 euro prize is to be awarded bi-annually. "The Mansholt Prize is a tribute to someone who inspired others, a courageous person who did not hesitate to counter prevailing opinion if he thought it necessary," says Dick de Zeeuw, one of the Foundation's founders and the President of its Board. "At the same time, the aim of the prize is to honour people or organizations who, in the spirit of Sicco Mansholt, actively strive for an economically and ecologically sustainable agriculture, and to inspire others to follow suit." De Zeeuw notes that back in 1996, there was no lack of prestigious international prizes in the fields of science and culture. "But there was no authoritative award that would stimulate inspiring, integrating and innovative ideas in the field of sustainable agriculture," he adds. "We trust that the Mansholt Prize will fill that gap." The Mansholt Prize Foundation's Board consists of Dick de Zeeuw, Chancellor Emeritus of Wageningen University for Life Sciences; Max van den Berg, Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Social Democrats (Partij van de Arbeid); Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, professor of Rural Sociology at Wageningen University ; Josée van Eijndhoven, professor of Sustainable Management at the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT); Rudy Rabbinge, professor Sustainable Development at Wageningen University. Candidates for the 2007 Sicco Mansholt Prize will be judged by a jury consisting of Arie van den Brand (Chairman), Wouter van Dieren, Sandra Rottenberg and Niels Röling. |