The Sierra Club is once again searching for outstanding
nominees for the
Goldman Environmental Prize, also known as the "Nobel Prize
for the
Environment." The issues that prize winners address are diverse,
from
protecting rivers and forests, to working to stop toxic industries
in
disadvantaged communities, to assisting indigenous people in
preserving
their environments and traditional ways of life. Each winner
receives an
award stipend of $125,000. For more information visit
www.goldmanprize.org.
SIERRA CLUB
2008 GOLDMAN
ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE NOMINATION
INSTRUCTIONS
Deadline Friday, April 20, 2007
Thank you for
serving as a Sierra Club nominator for
the Goldman
Environmental Prize. Goldman Prize staff relies
heavily on its nominators
to identify appropriate nominees for the Goldman
Prize. The information you
submit in your nomination
is the sole determinant as to whether Goldman
Prize staff
will research the nomination further. To ensure that
your
nominee fits the profile of a possible
Goldman Prize recipient, please
refer to the guidelines/criteria (p. 5)
that staff and jury members use in
selecting Prize
recipients.
IMPORTANT: Prior to submitting
your nomination, please contact Stephen
Mills (
[log in to unmask]
or 202-675-6691) with the name(s) of
the individual(s) you intend to
nominate.
Nomination instructions change each
year, so please use the following
format for
your nomination. Nominations should be typed and must include
the
information indicated under all of the following
headings.
1. Identification of
Nominee
Include the full name (with
last name underlined or in bold), street
address,
city and country, home and work
telephone numbers, fax
number/s and
email and web addresses if available. Please note
any
alternate names by which
they may have been known (married names,
nicknames, alternate spellings of names
translated from non-Roman
scripts,
etc.).
2. Identification of
Nominator/Researcher
Please include
your own name, address, and telephone number.
Include
fax and email address. Please
indicate the date of the nomination as
well.
3. Short
Summary of Environmental Achievement (no more than
four
sentences)
4. Detailed Description of
Recent Environmental Achievement (three pages
in 12pt
font)
Describe the outstanding environmental
achievement of the nominee, with
a focus
on current accomplishments. Please include specific dates
of
accomplishments (years). Please use the following
subheadings:
· The nature of the problem(s) or issue
· How the nominee
addressed the problem(s) or issue using grassroots
methods
· Results of
nominee’s work
· Controversy surrounding or concerns about nominee’s work or
circumstances
· Hardships and personal risks faced by the nominee
(optional)
· Sensitive background information that could be exposed by
greater media
attention (if the nominee is selected to win the Prize)
·
Why this accomplishment is significant on a national and/or
international
level
5. Background
Information on Nominee (two paragraphs or less)
Briefly describe the nominee's current occupational affiliation and
job
title (if applicable), level of education
completed, past involvement
with environmental
issues (if any), and other awards or
recognition
received by the nominee, including the
year(s) the award(s) were given
(if known). If
possible, please include a copy of the nominee’s resume
or
CV.
6. Personal Information
about Nominee
· What is the nominee’s age?
· What is the nominee’s
nationality?
· What languages does the nominee
speak?
Please provide the information below.
·
Where was the nominee born? Raised?
· Is the nominee married? Do they have a
domestic partner?
· Does the nominee have any children?
· What is the
nominee’s level of education? What colleges or universities
did he/she
attend?
· Are there any facts about the nominee’s family history that could
be
pertinent to the nomination?
· Has the nominee ever been accused or
convicted of a crime?
7. References
Please include the names, titles, organization affiliations,
addresses,
phone numbers and email
address of at least three
professional
references who are well acquainted with the
work of the nominee. Please
also include
names and contact information for at least two
personal
references who are well acquainted with the
nominee personally. Please
make sure that references’
contact information is accurate and current.
Letters
of reference are not necessary. The Goldman
Environmental
Prize does not accept nominations that omit
references.
8. Supporting Material
If available, please include
documentation of the nominee's
environmental activities, such as newspaper
or magazine articles
(please send
no more than five). Supporting materials are most useful
to The Goldman Prize if they were recently
published, come from a
reputable news
source, and mention the nominee’s name. (These do
not
have to be in English, but it is
preferred.) Please include a list of
all of
the supporting materials that you are
submitting. If the
candidate becomes a
finalist for the Prize, we may then request any
books or videotapes that would provide useful
information about the
candidate’s work. Please do
not send books or videos unless we request
them. However,
if such materials are available, please submit a list of
those that can be sent upon request.
Nominations should be mailed
to: Stephen
Mills
Sierra
Club
408 C Street,
N.E.
Washington, DC
20002
USA
The deadline for 2008 nominations is Friday, April
20, 2007. Nominations
may be sent via fax (202-547-6009), email (
[log in to unmask])
or
express mail. Please send the original copies of any
material you fax
to
us.
Guidelines for Nominators
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is
critical to the integrity of our research. Keeping this
in mind, please:
·
Do not advise candidates that they have been nominated.
· Be as discreet as
possible. Refrain from discussing your nominations with
others. Exceptions
can be made should your closest colleagues assist in the
preparation of the
nomination.
· Ensure that references respect this confidentiality as
well.
Nomination Terms
· Prior to submitting your nomination, please
contact Stephen Mills (
[log in to unmask] or
202-675-6691) to determine whether the
individual you intend to nominate is
already an active candidate.
· All nominations are active/valid for three
years, including the year that
they are submitted. We appreciate updates on
your nominees for the 2006 and
2007 Prizes. If you need to know whom you have
nominated in the past,
please contact us.
· We accept renominations of
candidates by their original nominators if
there is substantial new
information that strengthens their candidacy.
Submitting information on a
candidate whom you have previously nominated
will not make you/your
organization eligible for the honorarium, but it
will reactivate the
nominee’s eligibility for the Prize.
· While we do not encourage nomination
submissions in languages other than
English, if you feel your English
language ability would jeopardize the
strength of your nomination, please
contact us.
· We do not accept incomplete
nominations.
Collaboration
We understand
that many nominators may be familiar
with the same
candidates. If you work
with other nominators, please do not
submit
numerous nominations for the same
candidate. Also, note that we do not
accept nominations submitted jointly by
more than one nominator.
Individuals and their Communities
While
the Prize is given to individuals, we recognize the importance
of
communities and organizations in many activists’ work and we
know that it
can be politically and culturally
problematic to award the Prize to one
person. If this is a concern, please
make this clear in your nomination. If
your candidate is chosen to
receive the Prize, we will work to sensitively
address these issues
with the recipient in our media outreach. Please keep
in mind that each
year the Prize is awarded to an individual (occasionally
two), not a
community or organization.
Goldman Environmental Prize Nomination Evaluation Criteria
Formal
Criteria
The following premises guide the jury in
selecting Goldman Environmental
Prize winners:
· Recent achievements that
have enhanced the environment and inspired
others are the foundation for
recognition.
· Grassroots initiatives are given priority over scientific,
academic or
governmental activities.
· Private citizens are given priority
over executives of large NGOs.
· Government employees are eligible only for
work outside the scope of
their official responsibilities.
· The Prize is
not a lifetime achievement award, nor is it
given
posthumously.
Guidelines &
Priorities
Goldman Prize staff and jury
members also consider the following when
reviewing
candidates. This is not meant to be
a complete list of
guidelines.
· Leadership in a
grassroots campaign that seeks to have, or results in, a
significant impact
at the regional, national or global level.
· Environmental campaigns that
involve significant work with local
communities.
· Individuals who have
conducted their work at great personal risk.
· Nominations with very recent,
specific environmental accomplishments
(within the last three years).
·
Individuals who are members of the community where they do their work.
·
Leaders who are well respected by their communities and colleagues.
·
Consideration is given to issues or geographic areas not yet recognized
by
the global community or the Goldman Environmental Prize.
· Individuals whose
current work or campaigns would be significantly
impacted by receiving the
Prize.
· An individual’s ability to communicate the scope of their work to
the
general public.
· Recipients are often recognized at a certain point
in their careers—near
the time of a significant accomplishment and before
they become
well-established or well-known.
· While we recognize the
importance of communities and organizations in
many activists’ work, we
prefer nominations of one individual.