Four Freedoms Award

The Four Freedoms Award is an annual liberal inclined award presented to those men and women who have "demonstrated" an achievement to the principles lined out in the Four freedoms speech president Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave to the US Congress on 6 January 1941. It is handed out in alternate years in New York by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and in Middelburg by the Roosevelt Stichting.

History

The awards were first presented in 1982 on the centenary of president Roosevelt's birth as well as the bicentenary of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands. The awards were founded to celebrate the four freedoms espoused by president Roosevelt in his speech:

#Freedom of speech
#Freedom of religion
#Freedom from want
#Freedom from fear

For each of the four freedoms an award was instituted, as well as a specialFreedom award. In 1990, 1995, 2003 and 2004 there were also special awards.

In odd years the awards are presented to American citizens or institutions by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park, New York. In even years the award ceremony is held in Middelburg and honours non-Americans.The choice for Middelburg was motivated by the suspected descendance of the family Roosevelt from Oud-Vossemeer in the municipality Tholen.

Recipients

Freedom Medal

*2008 Richard von Weizsäcker
*2007 Carl Levin and Richard Lugar
*2006 Mohamed ElBaradei
*2005 Bill Clinton
*2004 Kofi Annan
*2003 George J. Mitchell
*2002 Nelson Mandela
*2001 The Veterans of World War II as represented by
**Richard Winters (U.S. Army)
**Robert Eugene Bush (U.S. Navy)
**William T. Ketcham (U.S. Marine Corps)
**Lee A. Archer, Jr. (U.S. Air Force)
**Ellen Buckley (U.S. Army Nurse Corps)
*2000 Martti Ahtisaari
*1999 Edward M. Kennedy
*1998 Mary Robinson
*1997 Katharine Meyer Graham
*1996 His Majesty Juan Carlos of Spain
*1995 President Jimmy Carter
*1994 His Holiness the Dalai Lama
*1993 Cyrus Vance
*1992 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
*1991 Thurgood Marshall
*1990 Václav Havel and Jacques Delors
*1989 William J. Brennan, Jr.
*1988 Helmut Schmidt
*1987 Hon. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr
*1986 Alessandro Pertini
*1985 Claude Pepper
*1984 Harold Macmillan
*1983 W. Averell Harriman
*1982 H.R.H. Princess Juliana of the Netherlands

Freedom of Speech

*2008 Lakhdar Brahimi
*2007 Bill Moyers
*2006 Carlos Fuentes
*2005 Tom Brokaw
*2004 Lennart Meri
*2003 Studs Terkel
*2002 Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
*2001 New York Times and the Ochs/Sulzberger Family
*2000 Bronisław Geremek
*1999 John Lewis
*1998 CNN
*1997 Sidney R. Yates
*1996 John Hume
*1995 Mary McGrory
*1994 Marion Dönhoff
*1993 Arthur Miller
*1992 Mstislav Rostropovich
*1991 James Reston
*1990 No Award
*1989 Walter Cronkite
*1988 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
*1987 Herbert Block
*1986 El Pais
*1985 Dr. Kenneth B. Clark
*1984 Amnesty International
*1983 Joseph L. Rauh, Jr.
*1982 Max van der Stoel

Freedom of Worship

*2008 Karen Armstrong
*2007 Peter J. Gomes
*2006 Taizé Community
*2005 Cornel West
*2004 Sari Nusseibeh
*2003 Robert F. Drinan
*2002 Nasr Abu Zayd
*2001 Johnnie Carr
*2000 Cicely Saunders
*1999 Corinne C. Boggs
*1998 The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu
*1997 William H. Gray
*1996 The Right Reverend Lord Runcie
*1995 Andrew Young
*1994 Gerhart M Riegner
*1993 Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC
*1992 Terry Waite
*1991 The Right Reverend Paul Moore, Jr.
*1990 László Tőkés
*1989 Raphael Lemkin (posthumously) and Hyman Bookbinder
*1988 Teddy Kollek
*1987 Reverend Leon Sullivan
*1986 Bernardus Alfrink
*1985 Elie Wiesel
*1984 Werner Leich and Christiann F. Beyers Naude
*1983 Coretta Scott King
*1982 Willem A. Visser 't Hooft

Freedom from Want

*2008 Jan Egeland
*2007 Barbara Ehrenreich
*2006 Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
*2005 Marsha J. Evans
*2004 Marguerite Barankitse
*2003 Dolores Huerta
*2002 Gro Harlem Brundtland
*2001 March of Dimes
*2000 M. S. Swaminathan
*1999 George S. McGovern
*1998 Stephane Hessel
*1997 Mark O. Hatfield
*1996 Médecins Sans Frontières
*1995 Lane Kirkland
*1994 Sadako Ogata
*1993 Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver
*1992 Jan Tinbergen
*1991 Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
*1990 Emile van Lennep
*1989 Dr. Dorothy I. Height
*1988 Dr. Halfdan T. Mahler
*1987 Mary Lasker
*1986 F. Bradford Morse
*1985 Dr. John Kenneth Galbraith
*1984 Liv Ullman
*1983 Robert S. McNamara
*1982 H. Johannes Witteveen

Freedom from Fear

*2008 War Child
*2007 Brent Scowcroft
*2006 Aung San Suu Kyi
*2005 Lee H. Hamilton and Thomas Kean
*2004 Max Kohnstamm
*2003 Robert C. Byrd
*2002 Ernesto Zedillo
*2001 The Veterans of World War II as represented by
**Richard Winters (U.S. Army)
**Robert E. Bush (U.S. Navy)
**William T. Ketcham (U.S. Marine Corps)
**Lee A. Archer, Jr. (U.S. Air Force)
**Ellen Buckley (U.S. Army Nurse Corps)
*2000 Louise Arbour
*1999 Robert O. Muller
*1998 Craig Kielburger
*1997 Daniel K. Inouye
*1996 Shimon Peres
*1995 Elliot Richardson
*1994 Zdravko Grebo
*1993 George Ball
*1992 The Right Honorable the Lord Carrington
*1991 Mike Mansfield
*1990 Simon Wiesenthal
*1989 J. William Fulbright
*1988 Dr. Armand Hammer
*1987 Dr. George Kennan
*1986 Olof Palme (posthumously)
*1985 Dr. Isidor Rabi
*1984 Brian Urquhart
*1983 Jacob K. Javits
*1982 J. Herman van Roijen

pecial presentations

*2008 Forrest Church
*2006 Mike Wallace
*2003 Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
*2002 William J. vanden Heuvel
*1995 Ruud Lubbers
*1990 Mikhail Gorbachev

Alternative Awards

The Four Freedoms Awards Zeeland, an initiative taken by Ariane van der Windt, Laura de Landgraaf and Brittany van der Does, three Roosevelt Academy students. As Eleanor Roosevelt stated "Where do human rights begin after all? In small places, close to home." and that is exactly what the Four Freedoms Zeeland will accomplish. Not only people working at an international level demonstrate great achievements according to the four freedoms speech, also smaller institutions and people at a local level make a difference.

By awarding them with the Local Four Freedoms award their work becomes known and respected, and will hopefully inspire people to join. The alternative awards were founded in 2008, and will be a bicentennial event that runs at the same years as the International Four Freedoms Awards, also in Middelburg, The Netherlands.

The recipients in 2008 were;
*Freedom of speech: The posters of Goesje and Walchje, for voicing the opinion on the fusion of two hospitals.
*Freedom of worship: Manifestation Nieuw Zout, for organizing events that combine different cultures and religions.
*Freedom from want: Primary school 'Ravensteijn', for going the extra mile to make sure that the less unfortunate kids are taken care of.
*Freedom from fear: Vluchtenlingenwerk Zeeland, for helping immigrants with so much more than legal issues.

External links

[http://www.oudvossemeer.com/ffsp.htm Four Freedoms Monument]