HEINEKEN PRIZES
PRESENTED BY
DUTCH CROWN PRINCE
fu nda menta I
work is awarded
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
In October, the Dutch crown prince, His Royal Highness Prince
Willem-Alexander, presented the Heineken Prizes to the
laureates. The prince who, like his parents, was on very friendly
terms with Mr Heineken, held an impressive speech honouring
the laureates and commemorating Mr Heineken.
The four international science prizes consist of USD 150,000 each.
Often very fundamental work is awarded. Both Andrew Fire
(Biochemistry and Biophysics) and Elizabeth Blackburn (Medicine)
were awarded the prize for their research on DNA that will probably
have far-reaching consequences for the fight against cancer.
Simon Levin received the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences
for his research into ecosystems, while Jacques Le Goff received the
Heineken Prize for History for fundamentally changing our view of
the Middle Ages. The Heineken Prize for Art includes a cash gift of
EUR 50,000 and is awarded biennially to an artist living and working
in the Netherlands. The Dutch artist Daan van Golden was awarded the
prize for his contribution to contemporary art in the past forty years.
Selection of the winners of the prizes is entrusted to the Royal
Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. During a special session
of the Academy on Friday, October 1, the crown prince presented
the prizes to the laureates at the Beurs van Berlage Building in
Amsterdam, the same building where the prince was married two
and a half years ago. Before actually handing the prizes over to
the laureates, Prince Willem-Alexander, a sports enthusiast and
member of the International Olympic Committee, delivered an
impressive speech full of warmth towards Mr Heineken. The full
speech can be found under 'toespraken' at www.koninklijkhuis.nl/
NL/nieuws/nieuws.html, while more info on the Heineken Prizes
can be found on www.heinekenprizes.org. Below are some
highlights from this speech.
"Heineken, as a company that has always been in pursuit of
highest perfection, wishes to acknowledge those who have
