By Michael Checkoway
Mikhail S. Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, has been chosen as the 2001 recipient of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding.
Gorbachev, winner of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, will be honored for his efforts to end
Mikhail Gorbachev will receive this year’s Delta Prize on April 16 in Atlanta in recognition of his efforts to promote peace and protect the environment.
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the arms race and Cold War, and his humanitarian and environmental work in their aftermath.
Established with an $890,000 grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation, the Delta Prize is administered by the University of Georgia.
“The Delta Prize was established to honor individuals or groups that successfully promote peaceful solutions to intercultural conflicts,” says Gary Bertsch, director of the UGA Center for International Trade and Security and co0director of the Delta Prize program. “President Gorbachev is a living symbol of peaceful change and understanding.”
“As a global airline, Delta knows the importance of intercultural understanding and is proud to recognize President Gorbachev for his efforts to foster peace and promote environmental protection around the world,” says Frederick W. Reid, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Delta.
Gorbachev is scheduled to accept the award at an April 16 ceremony in Atlanta. Reid and UGA President Michael F. Adams will present the prize.
During his period of leadership in the former Soviet Union, Gorbachev initiated the policy of “openness” (glasnost) that allowed for a freer flow of information and greater truth in Soviet affairs. His policy of economic restructuring—perestroika--and new thinking led to the reform of Soviet socialism.
Since he left office, Gorbachev has written several books, established the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow, and founded Green Cross International, a non-profit organization led in the United States by the American affiliate, Global Green USA. The organi-zation’s mission is to help create a sustainable future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment. It is active in several key areas, including preventing conflict over shared water basins, stemming climate change and air pollution, and reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
Gorbachev is the third recipient of the Delta Prize, which carries with it a $10,000 cash award. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa received the Delta Prize last year. In 1999, the inaugural prize went to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalynn and the Atlanta-based Carter Center.
A symposium will be held prior to the 2001 Delta Prize ceremony featuring Pat Mitchell, president of the Public Broadcasting Service and immediate past president of Global Green USA; Alexander Likhotal, vice president of Green Cross International; Irina Virganskaya, Gorbachev’s daughter and vice president of the Gorba-chev Foundation; and Igor Khripunov, former aide to Gorba-chev and now associate director of the university’s Center for International Trade and Security.
The symposium will focus on President Gorbachev’s efforts in the post–Cold War period to help create a safer, healthier and more just global society. |
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