37 Heineken N.V. Annual Report 2004 Report of the Executive Board Operational Review
European Works Council
In 2004, the Executive Board provided its annual update to the European Works Council (EWC) on
company strategy and the financial results for 2003. Furthermore, the EWC was informed extensively
in an open dialogue about the developments in the Brau-Union region and strategic programmes.
Management and the Works Council also held a comprehensive and successful stakeholders dialogue
on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Training and development
In 2004 we re-committed ourselves to becoming a learning organisation and established 'passion
for learning' as one of our four key ways of working. We believe embedding this philosophy is a critical
part of our ability to maintain our lead within the international beer market. During the year, we
expanded our on-line and off-line learning capabilities, and in particular, focused significant resource
behind the Heineken University, which exists to develop and share strategic expertise within the
group. It does this through the provision of programmes which supplement our regular local and
international training courses.
The 2004 Heineken Prizes
The Heineken Prizes are awarded biennially by the Dr H.P. Heineken Foundation and Stichting
Alfred Heineken Fondsen. They acknowledge and reward unique achievements in the four fields of
biochemistry and biophysics, medicine, environmental sciences and history. A fifth Heineken Prize,
the Heineken Prize for Art, is awarded every two years to an artist living and working in the
Netherlands. The recipients are selected by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
and the awards carry a total value of more than €650,000.
In October 2004, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, presented the awards
and delivered an impressive speech honouring the laureates and commemorating the late
Mr A.H. Heineken.
The five winners
The Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics was awarded to Dr Andrew Z. Fire from
the USA, for his discovery of RNA interference.
The Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine was awarded to professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn from
the USA for identifying the structure of chromosome ends (telomeres) and discovering the enzyme
telomerase.
The Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences was awarded to professor Simon A. Levin from
the USA for his insights into the effects of scale on ecosystems.
The Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for History was awarded to Jacques Le Goff from France for fundamentally
changing the current view of the Middle Ages.
The Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Arts and Sciences was awarded to Daan van Golden in the Netherlands
for his versatile output as an artist and his ability to place art in a new context, time and again.
For more information please visit www.heinekenprizes.org
