The Delta Prize for Global Understanding

Martti Ahtisaari

2008 Delta Prize Recipient

It is important to recognize that peacemaking can take place only when all parties of a dispute have a genuine desire to avoid further violence. Political negotiations alone will not resolve conflicts. Effective peacemaking often requires coordination with peacekeeping forces and international organizations involved in peace-building programs. The pursuit of a peaceful settlement should be a long-term strategic commitment.

— President Martti Ahtisaari (Acceptance Speech)

Nelson Mandela

2007 Delta Prize Recipient

Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters’ role in a united democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony.

— President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Address on Release from Prison, 1990)

Ted Turner

2006 Delta Prize Recipient

I believe that the more information that people have, if it’s good, honest, important information, the greater our chances will be for global understanding. In all my endeavors—such as CNN and CNN International, the grant to the United Nations, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative—I have tried to help people get along with each other peacefully. That means understanding each other, which requires good information.

— Mr. Ted Turner (Acceptance Speech)

Gertrude Mongella

2005 Delta Prize Recipient

I will continue to advocate for peace and understanding among people, regardless of gender, culture, and religious and political affiliation. And I will continue to advocate for women’s and children’s well-being.

— Ambassador Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella (Acceptance Speech)

Václav Havel

2004 Delta Prize Recipient

We should be aware that the fate of every one of us is affected by the fate of the entire human race more than it was ever before and, at the same time, that every one of us is now more co-responsible for the fate of the globe than we were in any previous period.

— President Václav Havel (Prague, Czech Republic, 2000)

Sadako Ogata

2002 Delta Prize Recipient

It should be reminded that the cause of refugee flight is basically political. Human suffering is largely determined by political action or inaction. In expressing my gratitude for the honor you have bestowed on me, I wish to appeal to you to join forces for changing the world for a safer and more humane place for all, particularly for the refugees and the dispossessed.

— Mrs. Sadako Ogata (Acceptance Speech)

Mikhail Gorbachev

2001 Delta Prize Recipient

Every individual who thinks about the world, who thinks about the joys and the sorrows and the problems of the world, who understands or tries to understand the world, who has not only a calculating mind but a humane heart – every such individual must say, 'Yes, indeed, either we build together a new world, a new peace, or we could destroy everything that we have and undermine the foundation for the life of future generations.'

– President Mikhail S. Gorbachev (Acceptance Speech)

Desmond Tutu

2000 Delta Prize Recipient

In South Africa we say, "A person is a person through other persons." I am me only because you are you. We are bound up in a bundle of life. When your humanity is undermined, whether I like it or not, my humanity is undermined, as well. We belong together. You cannot be human in isolation. You need other human beings.

— Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Acceptance Speech)

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and The Carter Center

1999 Delta Prize Recipient

Peace, human rights, democracy, freedom, environmental quality, and the alleviation of human suffering. Those are the things that make us proud.

— President Jimmy Carter (Acceptance Speech)