David Attenborough, a renowned author, and natural historian was conferred with Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the Peace Prize in a virtual ceremony.
BBC Broadcaster has been given the prize for revealing the wonders of the natural world and for his contribution through books and films to awaken humankind to protect and preserve the biodiversity on our planet.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi who was also present during the ceremony acknowledged David Attenborough’s work on educating humankind with about the natural world through brilliant films and books.
David Attenborough honoured with Indira Gandhi Peace Prize:
According to the citation for the ceremony, David Attenborough has been honoured with the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for educating and entertaining the generations of people through his films and books and for tirelessly working to awaken humankind to preserve and protect the biodiversity on Earth.
Through his commendable work, he has also been advocating the necessity to live a sustainable and harmonious way of life, working with rather than against nature.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi during the ceremony also stated that David is already well known through his prodigious creativity in educating mankind with brilliant books and films about the natural world.
She further added that amid the need for environment protection, when climate change and continued loss of biodiversity are threatening public health and livelihoods, there could not have been a more appropriate choice for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize than Sir David Attenborough.
David Attenborough’s contribution |
| Through films: • David Attenborough’s television credits span for 7 decades and his association with natural history programme dates back to the Zoo quests and Pattern of Animals in the early 1950s. • Life on Earth in 1979, which is also his most influential work, launched a strand of 9 authored documentaries with BBC Natural History Unit which shared the Life Strand name and spanned for 30 years. • Attenborough also narrated every episode of the long-running BBC series Wildlife on One and has also voiced several high- profile BBC documentaries like Planet Earth and The Blue Planet. Through Books: • In the 1950s and 1960s, Attenborough’s published work included accounts of his animal collecting expeditions all over the world, which also became the Zoo Quest series. • David Attenborough also wrote an accompanying volume to each of his nine Life documentaries, along with books on birds of paradise and tribal art. • Attenborough’s biography, Life on Air, which was published in 2002 and revised in 2009, is one of his works that is available as a self-narrated audiobook. • He also contributed the introductions and forewords to many other works, notably those accompanying Frozen Planet, Planet Earth, Africa, and other BBC Series that he has narrated. |
About Indira Gandhi Peace Prize:
The award is called Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, Disarmament and Development and it was instituted in the memory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1986. While speaking on the occasion, Congress President Sonia Gandhi spoke of how Indira Gandhi adored nature and had a special connection to the natural world from a young age.
The award is accorded to the individuals or organisations in recognition of their efforts towards promoting international peace, development, and a new economic order; enlarging the scope of freedom and ensuring that the scientific discoveries have been used for the larger good of humanity. The winner of the award receives a prize of Rs. 25 lakh along with a citation.
About David Attenborough:
David Attenborough is a natural historian and an English Broadcaster, best known for writing and presenting the nine Natural History documentary series which formed a Life Collection that constitutes a survey of plant life and animals on Earth.
Attenborough is the only person to have won BAFTA for programmes in each of colour, black and white, 3D, HD, and 4K. He has also received the Primetime Emmy Awards for the Outstanding Narrator.
David Attenborough who is the younger brother of the late producer, director, and actor Richard Attenborough, is also widely considered as a National Treasure in the United Kingdom.
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