An amazing piece of news! The Internet, which has virtually revolutionised the world, has been nominated for the ‘2010 Nobel Peace Prize’.
The Internet was proposed by the Italian edition of the popular ‘Wired’ magazine for promoting “dialogue, debate and consensus through communication” as well as democracy, the media reported.
Premier endorsers of Internet for Nobel Peace Prize nomination include 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and famous Italian surgeon, known for his contributions to breast cancer treatments, Umberto Veronesi.
‘Wired Italy’ has also launched a dedicated campaign, ‘Internet for Peace’, which will carry on till September 2010, featuring different stories and experiences of those who with the web have tried to do something concrete to promote peace and harmony in the world.
“We have to look at the Internet as a huge community where men and women from all over the world and with very different religious views can communicate and sympathise, spreading a new culture centred on collaboration and sharing of knowledge that breaks all barriers. “For this reason, the Internet can be considered the first weapon of mass construction, which we can deploy to destroy hate and conflict and propagate peace and democracy. “What happened in Iran after the latest election and the role the web played in spreading information that would otherwise have been censored, are only the newest examples of how the Internet can become a weapon of global hope,” Riccardo Luna, Editor of ‘Wired Italy’, said at the launch.
Without a doubt internet has changed the way people live. But I guess it is still an inanimate thing which has no feelings. Nobel should be given to someone and not to something. I mean by that analogy you can give this prize to cellphones or airplanes or even TV. Alfred Nobel who constituted these awards would have disapproved.
@SushJ I don’t think so….I think the award signifies contribution more than anything else. Also since the evolution of internet is multi chromatic and has involved thousands of innovators who have continuously contributed to its evolution, I think it was just to nominate this ‘revolution’. I think its a tribute to all those who have contributed wire up the world as it is today.
Honestly speaking, Internet today makes even a child of eight think global. Internet has embraced humanity in a bond that was never possible earlier. It has broken barriers of distance,time-zones, nationalities and languages. It has the richest credentials for the honour.
Hey Prasanna…I totally agree with you…there are absolutely no barriers that the internet hasn’t broken…it has made the impossible…possible by helping people connect with those whom they cudn’t even imagine to…!
My dilemma here is the candidate ITself: although the world communication has improved considerably, the Nobel Peace Prize would relate to “Peace” rather than “Communication” and if so – than the nomination should rather be “The People of the Internet” and not the medium itself. What would you think? The Italian version of the Wired magazine was 1st to propose Internet as a candidature, hear more on their arguments on http://www.digitallunch.blogspot.com. Are these arguments strong enough to support an inanimated medium of millions online users against singular human beings?
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