Awards, Apr 29, 2004

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas.

Environment. The Goldman Environmental Foundation (San Francisco) has presented its 2004 Goldman Environmental Prize to grass-roots environmental activists from six world regions. The winners, who each received an unrestricted cash award of $125,000:

— Africa. Rudolf N. Amenga-Etego (Accra, Ghana), whose advocacy led to the suspension of a major water-privatization project that would have limited access to clean drinking water in low-income Ghanaian communities.

— Asia. Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla (Bhopal, India), who are plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit demanding that Dow Chemical clean up the site of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak that killed 20,000 Bhopal residents and left more than 150,000 seriously injured; the lawsuit also asks Dow to cover medical expenses and damages from soil and water contamination.

— Europe. Manana Kochladze (Tbilisi, Georgia), who has advocated environmental and health protections to minimize the harm done by a proposed large-scale oil pipeline that would run through a national park and mountain gorge in Georgia.

— Islands and Island Nations. Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho (Dili, East Timor), who promoted successfully the inclusion of environmental-justice policies in the constitution of his country, the world’s newest nation.

— North America. Margie Richard (Norco, La.), who was instrumental in a successful campaign calling for Shell Chemical to relocate the residents of a neighborhood in Norco that became known as “Cancer Alley” because of the high rate of birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses among the predominantly black residents living near a Shell chemical plant.

— South and Central America. Libia R. Grueso Castelblanco (Buenaventura, Colombia), who helped secure passage of a law that gives Afro-Colombians territorial rights to lands they have inhabited for hundreds of years.

Technology. The Finnish Technology Award Foundation (Helsinki) has presented its inaugural Millennium Technology Prize — which recognizes technological innovation that enhances individuals’ quality of life and encourages sustainable economic development — to Tim Berners-Lee. Mr. Berners-Lee, founder and director of the World Wide Web Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge), helped develop the concept of the World Wide Web. The award carries a cash prize of 1-million euros, or approximately $1.2-million.

Volunteerism. Catholic Charities USA (Alexandria, Va.) has given its 2004 National Volunteer of the Year award to David Cleveland, a lawyer in Washington. Mr. Cleveland was honored for his full-time, pro bono work to provide legal representation to low-income immigrants in the Washington metropolitan area who are seeking asylum in the United States.