Thunberg said she hopes the money will help her \u00ab\u00a0do more good in the world.\u00a0\u00bb<\/b>
\nGreta Thunberg has pledged to donate 1 million euros \u2013 more than $1.14 million \u2013 in prize money. The 17-year-old climate activist was awarded the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, which recognizes people for their contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
In a video tweeted by Thunberg, she said all the prize money will be donated through her foundation to \u00ab\u00a0different organizations and projects who are working to help people on the frontlines affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis, especially in the Global South.\u00a0\u00bb
She said the prize money is more than she can \u00ab\u00a0begin to imagine,\u00a0\u00bb and that she hopes it will help her \u00ab\u00a0do more good in the world.\u00a0\u00bb
The prize is part of the Portuguese Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Established in 1956, \u00ab\u00a0the Foundation’s main purpose is to improve the quality of life through art, charity, science and education,\u00a0\u00bb according to its website.
According to a statement issued by Gulbenkian, Thunberg’s foundation will start by donating 100,000 euros to the SOS Amazonia campaign, \u00ab\u00a0to tackle COVID-19 in the Amazon,\u00a0\u00bb and another 100,000 euros to the Stop Ecocide Foundation to support their efforts to make \u00ab\u00a0ecocide\u00a0\u00bb \u2014 the mass destruction of nature \u2014 an international crime.
Gulbenkian’s grand jury chair, Jorge Sampaio, said in the statement that the jury came to a \u00ab\u00a0broad consensus\u00a0\u00bb in choosing Thunberg.
\u00ab\u00a0The way Greta Thunberg has been able to mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists, makes her one of the most remarkable figures of our days,\u00a0\u00bb Sampaio said.
\u00ab\u00a0She gave voice to the concerns of young generations about their future, which is at risk due to global warming, and has been on the spotlight for her youth but also for her direct and incisive communication,\u00a0\u00bb reads Gulbenkian’s statement. \u00ab\u00a0Her global influence is unprecedented for someone of her age.\u00a0\u00bb
Thunberg was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019 and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice.<\/p>\n