Nobelity
Encyclopedia
Nobelity is a feature documentary which looks at the world's most pressing problems through the eyes of Nobel laureates, including Desmond Tutu
, Sir Joseph Rotblat
, Ahmed Zewail
and Wangari Maathai
. The film was premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival
and was the first of several sold-out screenings at Austin's 1,200-seat Paramount Theatre
. The film has continued to be shown in theaters, at universities and schools, and in community centers and churches, as well as being released on DVD. Nobelity was written and directed by writer, actor and filmmaker Turk Pipkin
and produced by Christy Pipkin, in association with The Nobelity Project
.
The film interviews nine Nobel Prize winners discussing their vision for the world over the next 50 years.
holds the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin
, where he is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research on elementary particles and cosmology has been honored with numerous prizes and awards. In 1979,he received the Nobel Prize in Physics
for his development of a field theory that unifies the weak and electromagnetic nuclear forces within the atom.
In 1991, Weinberg was presented the National Medal of Science
. In 2004, he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences of the American Philosophical Society
, with a citation saying he is "considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today".
Among his many writings on theoretical physics are several books for scientists and lay readers alike, including The First Three Minutes, an eye-opening look at the origins of social commentary, and for his views on the essential role of science in society. Many of his writings on these and other subjects have appeared in The New York Review of Books.
"Science can tell you how to achieve certain things if you want to achieve them," Dr. Weinberg told Turk Pipkin
during their conversations for Nobelity, "but it can’t tell you what you ought to achieve. There is an unbridgeable gulf between questions of what is and questions of what ought to happen."
Weinberg also works closely with the Union of Concerned Scientists
, an independent non-profit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists which augments scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world.
for his discovery of the Buckministerfullerene or Buckyball, a unique molecular structure of 60 carbon atoms. Some of the strongest materials ever discovered, carbon nanostructures are currently being used in numerous practical applications.
Smalley's interest in science began in his early teens, and he has been an eloquent spokesman for the need to educate a new generation of scientists to find solutions to the world's problems. "Be a Scientist — Save the World" was the title of his lecture on the great energy challenges we face in the coming decades. Finding a new source of clean and reliable energy," he argued, "would enable us to solve numerous other world problems, including the need for clean water and plentiful food."
"There are good things about challenges," Smalley told Turk Pipkin
while filming at Smalley's office at Rice University
. "Challenge brings forth the best instincts of our youth and ourselves, and urges us on to develop technologies that would otherwise not get developed, so I see this as a good opportunity for the nation to seize on, and frankly for the world."
After a long battle with leukemia
, Smalley died at age 62 on October 28, 2005.
, Dr. Harold E. Varmus
is currently the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
. A noted cancer
biologist, Varmus is also a cyclist and a passionate advocate for increased health care spending and medical research around the world.
"As a fraction of our gross national product, the U.S. is at the bottom of the 22 wealthiest nations on a list of donors," he pointed out to Turk Pipkin
during filming for Nobelity. "Furthermore, only one-eighth of our foreign aid goes to health, and it doesn’t all go to the poorest countries."
In 1989, Varmus was awarded the Nobel Prize
with J. Michael Bishop
in recognition of their breakthrough research in identifying oncogenes, the discovery of which has dramatically improved our ability to understand and control cancer.
Varmus is also the co-founder of the Public Library of Science
, a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to opening the doors to the world's library of scientific knowledge by giving any scientist, physician, patient or student – anywhere in the world – unlimited access to the latest scientific research.
(ICBL), which she helped to found, Jody Williams
was awarded the Nobel Peace prize
in 1997 for her work in the creation of an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. At the time of the ICBL's founding, tens of millions of mines were deployed around the world in 80 countries, and each year mines were claiming as many as fifty thousand new victims — most of them civilians, many of them children — who were crippled, maimed and blinded by mines.
The treaty has since been signed by 152 countries (but not the U.S.), and more than 1,100 square kilometers of land have been cleared, destroying 4 million anti-personnel mines, nearly 1 million anti-vehicle mines, and many more millions of pieces of unexploded ordnance. Adding to these accomplishments, 62 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed.
In addition to being the chief strategist and spokesperson for the Campaign, Williams is an eloquent speaker on human rights, on the role of civil society in international diplomacy, and on individual initiative in bringing about social change.
"Every act you take on this planet contributes in one way or another to an outcome," says Jody. "When we launched the mine ban, we didn’t know what we would accomplish. But we did know it was the right thing to do."
, Ahmed Zewail
was educated in his native Egypt
before moving to America to attend Alexandria University
and the University of Pennsylvania
, where he received his PhD.
Zewail was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his seminal work in the field of femtochemistry
, which made it possible to observe molecular changes measured in femtoseconds, a measurement equal to a millionth of a billionth of a second. This work has greatly expanded our understanding of molecular structure and the dynamics of matter, and has led to entire new fields of practical applications in technology and life sciences.
Well-known for his public lectures and writings on science, technology, education and world affairs, Zewail is the author of the book, Voyage through Time—Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize in which he suggests a concrete course of action to address problems in the world of the have-nots.
Pointing out that he is an Egyptian, an Arab, an African, a Middle Easterner, a Mediterranean and an American, Zewail is well aware of his unique perspective on East-West relations.
's Green Belt Movement
(GBM), a grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) which has created opportunity and change in the life of rural African women and dramatically improved the Kenyan environment through the planting of 30 million trees.
The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Maathai earned degrees in the U.S. and in Kenya, where her work with the National Council of Women inspired her to create a program of planting trees by rural people — primarily women — in order to conserve the environment and improve quality of life.
Maathai's struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa resulted in her being beaten unconscious and jailed on multiple occasions, but her persistence has fostered incredible change in Kenya, where she received 98% of the vote in her election to Parliament.
Maathai travels the globe in support of development and reform in Africa.
where he received his PhD, nuclear physicist and peace activist Sir Joseph Rotblat
spent the past sixty years fighting against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Along with Albert Einstein
and Bertrand Russell
, Rotblat was one of eleven scientists who in 1955 signed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto
, a letter to the world calling for a total ban on nuclear weapons.
"I was the youngest of the people who signed," Rotblat explained to Turk Pipkin
at Rotblat's home in the suburbs of London, "and now I am the only one still alive. This is the reason why I feel it is my duty, indeed it is my mission for the remaining days of my life, to alert the world to the continuing dangers of nuclear weapons."
In 1957, Rotblat was one of the founders of the Pugwash Conferences, a series of global gathering of scientists, scholars and public figures working to reduce the danger of armed conflict, and to seek cooperative solutions for global problems. Knighted in 1998, Rotblat published several works on the Pugwash movement, nuclear physics and world peace.
Rotblat died in 2005, not long after his conversations with Turk Pipkin
for the film Nobelity.
"As long as nuclear weapons exist," Sir Joseph told Turk, "sooner or later they will be used."
Though Rotblat feels the United States is now engaged in an overall policy of proliferation, he is confident that a return to American commitments to further reduce nuclear weapons — already pledged under the Non-Proliferation Treaty — would inspire other nations to follow suit.
is one of the world's leading authorities on human development, human rights and the causes of famine. Currently the Lamont University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University
, Sen is the author of numerous books, including the landmark work, Development as Freedom, in which he demonstrates that famine is not caused by a lack of food, but by an inability to purchase or acquire food due to poverty or a lack of a variety of freedoms.
In his latest book, Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Issues of Our Time), Sen argues that the antidote to divisive extremism lies in the freedom to choose one's identity affiliations rather than being labeled by narrow definitions of religion, class, sex or politics.
Born in Santiniketan
, India
, in 1933, Sen's research and writing have been in the fields of social choice theory, welfare economics
and political philosophy
. A strong proponent of women's rights, he has studied and written about the links between women's education and literacy and the reduction of birthrates in the developing world. On the meaning of freedom, Sen argues that freedom is not simply defined by the right to vote, but also by freedom from the insecurities of terrorism, from the lack of healthcare, and the freedom not to starve.
Meeting with Turk Pipkin
at his boyhood home in Santiniketan – which means "World of Peace" – Sen's thoughts in Nobelity are eye-opening.
"It's not often recognized that on 9/11/2001," Sen pointed out, "more people died of AIDS than died of violence. On 9/11, and on every other day, many more times people die from preventable or manageable illnesses like AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis. That doesn’t reduce the importance of fighting terrorism, but along with that we have to engage the much bigger killers in the world."
Sen is also an Honorary Advisor — and the former Honorary President — of OXFAM
, a development, relief and campaigning organization that works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world.
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as "a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa
".
After the fall of apartheid, Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
, which was widely credited with helping South Africa avoid revenge oriented bloodshed following the fall of apartheid.
Born in 1931 in Transvaal
, Tutu graduated from the University of South Africa
and was ordained as a priest in 1960. After studying and teaching in England, in 1975 Tutu was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg
, the first black to hold that position.
He is the author of numerous books, including the recent God has a Dream, in which he argues that God's dream is that one day we will also realize that we are truly one family, and will treat each other as we would members of our own family.
, dedicated to a better world for children everywhere. The Project has also produced a sequel to Nobelity, One Peace at a Time
, which focuses on solutions to the problems chronicled in the first film. Proceeds from the films serve as an endowment for current and future education projects, including Mahiga Hope High School; A high school in rural Kenya built by the Nobelity Project, and the subject of their 3rd feature documentary Building Hope
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, Sir Joseph Rotblat
Joseph Rotblat
Sir Joseph Rotblat, KCMG, CBE, FRS , was a Polish-born, British-naturalised physicist.His work on nuclear fallout was a major contribution to the agreement of the Partial Test Ban Treaty...
, Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Hassan Zewail is an Egyptian-American scientist who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry. He is the Linus Pauling Chair Professor Chemistry and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology.- Birth and education :Ahmed Zewail was born on...
and Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
. The film was premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
and was the first of several sold-out screenings at Austin's 1,200-seat Paramount Theatre
The Paramount Theatre (Austin, Texas)
The Paramount Theatre is a live theatre venue/movie theatre located in downtown Austin, Texas in the United States of America. The classical revival style structure was built in 1915...
. The film has continued to be shown in theaters, at universities and schools, and in community centers and churches, as well as being released on DVD. Nobelity was written and directed by writer, actor and filmmaker Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
and produced by Christy Pipkin, in association with The Nobelity Project
The Nobelity Project
The Nobelity Project is an Austin, TX-based nonprofit founded by Turk and Christy Pipkin, in 2006, while producing the film Nobelity. The nonprofit's principal goals include education and bettering the lives of people across the globe...
.
The film interviews nine Nobel Prize winners discussing their vision for the world over the next 50 years.
Steve Weinberg, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1979
Steven WeinbergSteven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
holds the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research on elementary particles and cosmology has been honored with numerous prizes and awards. In 1979,he received the Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
for his development of a field theory that unifies the weak and electromagnetic nuclear forces within the atom.
In 1991, Weinberg was presented the National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
. In 2004, he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, with a citation saying he is "considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today".
Among his many writings on theoretical physics are several books for scientists and lay readers alike, including The First Three Minutes, an eye-opening look at the origins of social commentary, and for his views on the essential role of science in society. Many of his writings on these and other subjects have appeared in The New York Review of Books.
"Science can tell you how to achieve certain things if you want to achieve them," Dr. Weinberg told Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
during their conversations for Nobelity, "but it can’t tell you what you ought to achieve. There is an unbridgeable gulf between questions of what is and questions of what ought to happen."
Weinberg also works closely with the Union of Concerned Scientists
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit science advocacy group based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. James J...
, an independent non-profit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists which augments scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world.
Richard E. Smalley, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996
Dr. Richard E. Smalley was awarded the Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for his discovery of the Buckministerfullerene or Buckyball, a unique molecular structure of 60 carbon atoms. Some of the strongest materials ever discovered, carbon nanostructures are currently being used in numerous practical applications.
Smalley's interest in science began in his early teens, and he has been an eloquent spokesman for the need to educate a new generation of scientists to find solutions to the world's problems. "Be a Scientist — Save the World" was the title of his lecture on the great energy challenges we face in the coming decades. Finding a new source of clean and reliable energy," he argued, "would enable us to solve numerous other world problems, including the need for clean water and plentiful food."
"There are good things about challenges," Smalley told Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
while filming at Smalley's office at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. "Challenge brings forth the best instincts of our youth and ourselves, and urges us on to develop technologies that would otherwise not get developed, so I see this as a good opportunity for the nation to seize on, and frankly for the world."
After a long battle with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, Smalley died at age 62 on October 28, 2005.
Dr. Harold E. Varmus, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1989
Former Director of the National Institute of Health under President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Dr. Harold E. Varmus
Harold E. Varmus
Harold Elliot Varmus is an American Nobel Prize-winning scientist and the 14th and current Director of the National Cancer Institute, a post he was appointed to by President Barack Obama. He was a co-recipient Harold Elliot Varmus (born December 18, 1939) is an American Nobel Prize-winning...
is currently the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
. A noted cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
biologist, Varmus is also a cyclist and a passionate advocate for increased health care spending and medical research around the world.
"As a fraction of our gross national product, the U.S. is at the bottom of the 22 wealthiest nations on a list of donors," he pointed out to Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
during filming for Nobelity. "Furthermore, only one-eighth of our foreign aid goes to health, and it doesn’t all go to the poorest countries."
In 1989, Varmus was awarded the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
with J. Michael Bishop
J. Michael Bishop
-External links:**...
in recognition of their breakthrough research in identifying oncogenes, the discovery of which has dramatically improved our ability to understand and control cancer.
Varmus is also the co-founder of the Public Library of Science
Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science is a nonprofit open-access scientific publishing project aimed at creating a library of open access journals and other scientific literature under an open content license...
, a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to opening the doors to the world's library of scientific knowledge by giving any scientist, physician, patient or student – anywhere in the world – unlimited access to the latest scientific research.
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize, 1997
Along with the International Campaign to Ban LandminesInternational Campaign to Ban Landmines
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working for a world free of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.The coalition was formed in...
(ICBL), which she helped to found, Jody Williams
Jody Williams
Jody Williams is an American teacher and aid worker who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the campaign she worked for, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines...
was awarded the Nobel Peace prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
in 1997 for her work in the creation of an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. At the time of the ICBL's founding, tens of millions of mines were deployed around the world in 80 countries, and each year mines were claiming as many as fifty thousand new victims — most of them civilians, many of them children — who were crippled, maimed and blinded by mines.
The treaty has since been signed by 152 countries (but not the U.S.), and more than 1,100 square kilometers of land have been cleared, destroying 4 million anti-personnel mines, nearly 1 million anti-vehicle mines, and many more millions of pieces of unexploded ordnance. Adding to these accomplishments, 62 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed.
In addition to being the chief strategist and spokesperson for the Campaign, Williams is an eloquent speaker on human rights, on the role of civil society in international diplomacy, and on individual initiative in bringing about social change.
"Every act you take on this planet contributes in one way or another to an outcome," says Jody. "When we launched the mine ban, we didn’t know what we would accomplish. But we did know it was the right thing to do."
Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1999
The Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Zewail
Ahmed Hassan Zewail is an Egyptian-American scientist who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry. He is the Linus Pauling Chair Professor Chemistry and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology.- Birth and education :Ahmed Zewail was born on...
was educated in his native Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
before moving to America to attend Alexandria University
Alexandria University
Alexandria University is a university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fuad University , becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as Farouk University until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 when its name was changed to the University of Alexandria...
and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he received his PhD.
Zewail was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his seminal work in the field of femtochemistry
Femtochemistry
Femtochemistry is the science that studies chemical reactions on extremely short timescales, approximately 10–15 seconds .-Introduction:...
, which made it possible to observe molecular changes measured in femtoseconds, a measurement equal to a millionth of a billionth of a second. This work has greatly expanded our understanding of molecular structure and the dynamics of matter, and has led to entire new fields of practical applications in technology and life sciences.
Well-known for his public lectures and writings on science, technology, education and world affairs, Zewail is the author of the book, Voyage through Time—Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize in which he suggests a concrete course of action to address problems in the world of the have-nots.
Pointing out that he is an Egyptian, an Arab, an African, a Middle Easterner, a Mediterranean and an American, Zewail is well aware of his unique perspective on East-West relations.
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize, 2004
The first environmentalist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Prof. Wangari Muta Maathai is the founder of KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
's Green Belt Movement
Green Belt Movement
The Green Belt Movement is an indigenous grassroots non-governmental organization based in Nairobi, Kenya that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building...
(GBM), a grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) which has created opportunity and change in the life of rural African women and dramatically improved the Kenyan environment through the planting of 30 million trees.
The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Maathai earned degrees in the U.S. and in Kenya, where her work with the National Council of Women inspired her to create a program of planting trees by rural people — primarily women — in order to conserve the environment and improve quality of life.
Maathai's struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa resulted in her being beaten unconscious and jailed on multiple occasions, but her persistence has fostered incredible change in Kenya, where she received 98% of the vote in her election to Parliament.
Maathai travels the globe in support of development and reform in Africa.
Sir Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Peace Prize, 1995
Born in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
where he received his PhD, nuclear physicist and peace activist Sir Joseph Rotblat
Joseph Rotblat
Sir Joseph Rotblat, KCMG, CBE, FRS , was a Polish-born, British-naturalised physicist.His work on nuclear fallout was a major contribution to the agreement of the Partial Test Ban Treaty...
spent the past sixty years fighting against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Along with Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, Rotblat was one of eleven scientists who in 1955 signed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto
Russell-Einstein Manifesto
The Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict...
, a letter to the world calling for a total ban on nuclear weapons.
"I was the youngest of the people who signed," Rotblat explained to Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
at Rotblat's home in the suburbs of London, "and now I am the only one still alive. This is the reason why I feel it is my duty, indeed it is my mission for the remaining days of my life, to alert the world to the continuing dangers of nuclear weapons."
In 1957, Rotblat was one of the founders of the Pugwash Conferences, a series of global gathering of scientists, scholars and public figures working to reduce the danger of armed conflict, and to seek cooperative solutions for global problems. Knighted in 1998, Rotblat published several works on the Pugwash movement, nuclear physics and world peace.
Rotblat died in 2005, not long after his conversations with Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
for the film Nobelity.
"As long as nuclear weapons exist," Sir Joseph told Turk, "sooner or later they will be used."
Though Rotblat feels the United States is now engaged in an overall policy of proliferation, he is confident that a return to American commitments to further reduce nuclear weapons — already pledged under the Non-Proliferation Treaty — would inspire other nations to follow suit.
Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize in Economics, 1998
Indian economist Amartya SenAmartya Sen
Amartya Sen, CH is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members...
is one of the world's leading authorities on human development, human rights and the causes of famine. Currently the Lamont University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Sen is the author of numerous books, including the landmark work, Development as Freedom, in which he demonstrates that famine is not caused by a lack of food, but by an inability to purchase or acquire food due to poverty or a lack of a variety of freedoms.
In his latest book, Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Issues of Our Time), Sen argues that the antidote to divisive extremism lies in the freedom to choose one's identity affiliations rather than being labeled by narrow definitions of religion, class, sex or politics.
Born in Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in 1933, Sen's research and writing have been in the fields of social choice theory, welfare economics
Welfare economics
Welfare economics is a branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to evaluate economic well-being, especially relative to competitive general equilibrium within an economy as to economic efficiency and the resulting income distribution associated with it...
and political philosophy
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
. A strong proponent of women's rights, he has studied and written about the links between women's education and literacy and the reduction of birthrates in the developing world. On the meaning of freedom, Sen argues that freedom is not simply defined by the right to vote, but also by freedom from the insecurities of terrorism, from the lack of healthcare, and the freedom not to starve.
Meeting with Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin
Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...
at his boyhood home in Santiniketan – which means "World of Peace" – Sen's thoughts in Nobelity are eye-opening.
"It's not often recognized that on 9/11/2001," Sen pointed out, "more people died of AIDS than died of violence. On 9/11, and on every other day, many more times people die from preventable or manageable illnesses like AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis. That doesn’t reduce the importance of fighting terrorism, but along with that we have to engage the much bigger killers in the world."
Sen is also an Honorary Advisor — and the former Honorary President — of OXFAM
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, a development, relief and campaigning organization that works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world.
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize, 1984
Anglican Archbishop Desmond TutuDesmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as "a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
".
After the fall of apartheid, Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected...
, which was widely credited with helping South Africa avoid revenge oriented bloodshed following the fall of apartheid.
Born in 1931 in Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, Tutu graduated from the University of South Africa
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
and was ordained as a priest in 1960. After studying and teaching in England, in 1975 Tutu was appointed Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, the first black to hold that position.
He is the author of numerous books, including the recent God has a Dream, in which he argues that God's dream is that one day we will also realize that we are truly one family, and will treat each other as we would members of our own family.
Festivals and awards
- Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Tahoe/Reno Int'l Film Festival
- Official Selection Maui Film Festival
- Official Selection SXSW Film Festival
- Official Selection Global Peace Film Festival
- Official Selection Maui Film Festival
- Official Selection Lauderdale Int'l Film Festival
- Official Selection Sustainability Documentary Film Festival
Current projects
While filming at a school in Kenya which had no water or electricity, Pipkin was inspired to join with his wife in a larger endeavor, the education and action chaity, The Nobelity ProjectThe Nobelity Project
The Nobelity Project is an Austin, TX-based nonprofit founded by Turk and Christy Pipkin, in 2006, while producing the film Nobelity. The nonprofit's principal goals include education and bettering the lives of people across the globe...
, dedicated to a better world for children everywhere. The Project has also produced a sequel to Nobelity, One Peace at a Time
One Peace at a Time
One Peace at a Time is a film by Turk and Christy Pipkin. It was produced by The Nobelity Project and was premiered to a sold out audience at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, USA, on April 14, 2009. It is the sequel to the film Nobelity...
, which focuses on solutions to the problems chronicled in the first film. Proceeds from the films serve as an endowment for current and future education projects, including Mahiga Hope High School; A high school in rural Kenya built by the Nobelity Project, and the subject of their 3rd feature documentary Building Hope
Building Hope
Building Hope is a film by Turk and Christy Pipkin. It was produced by The Nobelity Project and premiered on March 12 at the 2011 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas...