Rewarding Achievement
HEINEKEN PRIZES
Past, Present
and Future
Henry Pierre Heineken, son of the Company's founder, possessed the type of
passion and curiosity that has become well established in the Heineken DNA.
Around 50 years ago the Heineken Prizes Trust was established in his honour
to reward others who share these characteristics. Henry Pierre's granddaughter,
and Chair of the Foundation, Charlene de Carvalho talks to World of HEINEKEN
about keeping this legacy alive.
uriosity was a part of my
father's make-up. He was
interested in research in
clever these people were and had huge
admiration for them. The work they do
affects everyone and even though
they may have been working tirelessly
on a project or research for 20 or 30 years
we sadly only hear about it once
it's completed."
many fields," explains Charlene while
talking about the origin of the Heineken
Prizes. When first established in the
1960s by her father Alfred Heineken, the
Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry
Biophysics was a single award, and
the subject was not a random choice.
"That was my Grandfather's subject.
He held a Doctorate in Biochemistry,"
explains Charlene. Today the Heineken
Prizes have grown to include six fields
and are amongst the most prestigious
international awards in the world after
the Nobel Prizes.
The Importance of KNAW
The winners of the Heineken Prizes are
selected every two years by the KNAW
(Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts
and Sciences), an organisation over 200
years old, dedicated to advancing science
and literature. As well as awarding the
Heineken Prizes, the Academy operates a
number of research institutes and advises
the Dutch Government on scientific
matters. "The Academy is instrumental.
The Prizes wouldn't happen without
them," says Charlene.
"There was a personal reason for
establishing them," says Charlene. "My
father wanted to let the world know that
the individual scientists in these fields
Right: Charlene de
Carvalho is passionate
about keeping her
family's legacy alive
are important and to create a prize that
would encourage them to continue their
work. He was always amazed by how
In addition to the Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize
for Biochemistry Biophysics there
are now the Dr A.H. Heineken Prizes for
World of HEINEKEN Edition 12013
