22.09.2013
Members of the public will get the chance to join guests at the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy ceremony being hosted by the Scottish Parliament in the Debating Chamber on Thursday, 17 October.
Members of the public are invited to apply in writing to the Scottish Parliament. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 2 October 2013 at 12noon, with the draw taking place that afternoon. Successful individuals will be informed by Friday 4 October. The ceremony will also be broadcast live online.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP said:
“We are proud that the Scottish Parliament is once again the only place outside of America to host the Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy ceremony. It’s a great honour to share in acknowledging the significant contribution the medallists are making worldwide in their chosen areas.
“It is an important part of the activities celebrating the international legacy of Scots born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. His spirit and philosophy lives on in these individuals and organisations and we hope the medallists continue to inspire others to make a difference and leave their own legacies.”
The recipients of the Medals are:
- Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nassar, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science Community Development and one of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women;
- Sir Tom Hunter, the British entrepreneur whom the Sunday Times called Scotland’s first home-grown billionaire. He was knighted in 2005 for services to entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A long term advocate of ‘giving back’, Tom has championed the cause of philanthropy in Europe;
- Dame Janet Frances Wolfson de Botton DBE, on behalf of the Wolfson Family, founders of the Wolfson Foundation, which supports and promotes excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts & humanities;
- Dr James Harris Simons – along with his wife, economist Dr Marilyn Simons – the American mathematician who founded one of the world’s most successful hedge fund companies. Dr James H. Simons is Chairman of the Simons Foundation, an organisation dedicated to advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basics of sciences. The Foundation’s philanthropic activities include a major research initiative on the causes of autism, and the establishment of an institute for research in mathematics and theoretical physics. Dr Marilyn Simons is the president of the Simons Foundation. Under her guidance, the Simons Foundation has grown rapidly since its inception in 1994 to become one of the country’s leading private funders of basic research. The Simons Foundation supports scholars working in pure and applied mathematics, theoretical computer science, and theoretical physics, as well as the life sciences;
- Dr Dmitry Zimin, co-founder of the second-largest telecom in Russia VimpelCom (trade mark ‘Beeline). In 2001 Dr Zimin established a Foundation entitled ‘Dynasty’. The Dynasty Fund has as its principal purpose the backing and popularisation of Russian academic fundamental science.
Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Chairman of the Carnegie Medal Selection Committee, said: “Andrew Carnegie was the greatest export of Scotland to America, and we are delighted he did not forget his beloved Scotland as he helped lay the foundation for modern philanthropy. As we of the Carnegie institutions celebrate his legacy, we all remember his admonition that with wealth comes responsibility. Our Medal of Philanthropy honorees have embraced that philosophy. The legacies of Andrew Carnegie and our honorees can be found in science, education, libraries, museums, and universities all over the world. They are a great tribute to humanity and its potential.”
Details for applying for the public ballot tickets
All applications must be received by 12noon on Wednesday, 2 October.
For security reasons, applicants are asked to provide the following:
Full name
Full address plus postcode
Email address
Daytime contact telephone number and mobile
Number required per application (limited to two places per application.
Applications should be by post only (no phone calls or emails)
Only successful applicants will be notified. They will hear from the Parliament by Friday, 4 October.
The address to send applications to is:
Carnegie Awards Ballot
Q1.01
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
Background on the event
Often described as the ‘Nobel Prize of Philanthropy’, The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy is awarded biannually to some of the world’s leading philanthropists.
Now in its 12th year, this is only the second time the Carnegie ceremony has been held outside the United States, both times in Scotland, having been last hosted by the Scottish Parliament in 2005.
This year’s event marks the centennial of the establishment of the Carnegie UK Trust and concludes a week-long festival of events to celebrate the impact of Scots-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and the global network of charitable trusts and foundations he endowed in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Pierre Omidyar, the entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder and chairman of eBay, and a recipient of the 2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, will be the keynote speaker at the highly prestigious event.
Representatives from philanthropic bodies, politics and civil society will attend the Medals, which are being hosted by the Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon. Tricia Marwick.
The medal recipients are selected by an international selection committee comprising representatives from six major Carnegie institutions.
2013 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients:
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser plays a key role in supporting Qatar’s National Vision—a far-reaching agenda to transform Qatar into a thriving, knowledge-based society by 2030. Sheikha Moza is a driving force behind education and social reforms in her country aimed at preparing Qataris to compete in the global economy while building strong families and communities at home. She is also spearheading projects throughout the world to promote peace and human development.
She serves as Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a private non-profit organization founded in 1995. Her Highness also serves as the Vice Chair of the Supreme Council of Health and served as the Vice Chair of the Supreme Education Council from 2006–2012, enacting major, top-down reforms of Qatar’s public schools and healthcare system. In addition, Her Highness is chair of the Sidra Medical and Research Centre, a new training and research hospital that is envisaged to become a leading institution for women and children’s specialty care.
Sheikha Moza has launched multiple projects including the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq, the Silatech initiative to address the growing challenge of youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa, and Education Above All, a policy research and advocacy organization concerned with a single policy area: protecting the right to education in conflict-affected areas. Her Highness has played an active role with the United Nations for many years, including an appointment in 2003 as UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education; in 2008 she was appointed by the Secretary General of the UN as Alliance of Civilizations Ambassador; and in 2010 she became a member of the UN Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group with a special emphasis on universal primary education.
Dame Janet Wolfson de Botton
Dame Janet Wolfson de Botton has been Chairman of the Wolfson Foundation since 2010. She is the daughter of Lord Wolfson of Marylebone who, with his parents, established the Foundation in 1955. Dame Janet is a collector of contemporary art and was a Director of Christie’s International between 1994 and 1998, Trustee of Tate 1992-2002 and the Chairman of Council for Tate Modern 1999 -2002. In 1996 she donated 60 contemporary works of art to Tate – a gift which has been described as being “crucial to the development of Tate Modern”. The Wolfson Foundation supports and promotes excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts & humanities. All funding is based on expert peer review and the Board comprises family members and academic experts. Over £750 million (some £1.25 billion in real terms) has been awarded in grants to some 10,000 projects over the last 58 years, including £110 million in the last three years alone.
Sir Tom Hunter
Sir Tom Hunter was knighted in 2005 for services to entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A long-term advocate of ‘giving back’, Tom has championed the cause of philanthropy in Europe. The son of a local shop owner, Tom started his first business selling sports shoes from the back of a van with a £5,000 loan from his dad, building this business into Europe’s largest independent sports retailer and eventually selling it in 1998 for £290m. Tom and his wife, Lady Marion Hunter went on to establish their venture philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation (“THF”). At the core of their philanthropy are two key principles – philanthropy is not a substitute for Government investment and that the poorest of the poor require a ‘hand up’ not a ‘hand out’. In 2000 THF endowed the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde to support research and teaching in entrepreneurship across the university and Scotland as a whole. In turn the Foundation worked actively, and continues to do so, to support enterprise and entrepreneurship throughout the education system working in Schools, Colleges and Universities. In addition in the UK THF has typically funded initiatives that both advocates for a cause and raises funding for its solution. THF has also invested in large scale campaigning on major global issues, having underwritten the Make Poverty History campaign and Live 8. Internationally THF has in large part focused on partnering with the Clinton Foundation in a joint endeavour, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (“CHDI”) to develop in partnership with Government innovative solutions to support country growth. In Rwanda they initially focused in successfully building a scalable rural health model working with Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health and the Rwandan Government and are now focusing on large scale economic development.
Dr James H. Simons
Dr James H. Simons is Chairman of the Simons Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. The Foundation’s philanthropic activities include a major research initiative on the causes of autism, and the establishment of an institute for research in mathematics and theoretical physics. The Foundation is particularly interested in the growing interface between the physical and life sciences and has established and endowed several such research programs at universities and institutions both in the US and abroad. A Board Chair of Renaissance Technologies LLC, a highly quantitative investment firm he retired in 2009 having founded the company and serving as its CEO for over thirty years. Previously he was chairman of the Mathematics Department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Simons holds a B.S. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley. His scientific research was in the area of geometry and topology. He received the American Mathematical Society Veblen Prize in Geometry in 1975 for work that involved a recasting of the subject of area minimizing multi-dimensional surfaces. Dr. Simons' most influential research involved the discovery and application of certain geometric measurements, now called the Chern-Simons Invariants. Dr. Simons is the founder and Chairman of Math for America, a nonprofit organization with a mission to significantly improve math education in our nation’s public schools. He serves as Trustee of Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Institute for Advanced Study, Rockefeller University, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley. He is also a member of the Board of the MIT Corporation and Chair Emeritus of the Stony Brook Foundation.
Marilyn H. Simons
Marilyn Hawrys Simons is the president of the Simons Foundation, which is advancing research in the basic sciences and mathematics. Under her guidance, the Simons Foundation has grown rapidly since its inception in 1994 to become one of the country’s leading private funders of basic research. Through its online news division, Simons Science News, the Foundation has also become an important voice for enhancing public understanding of science. The Simons Foundation supports scholars working in pure and applied mathematics, theoretical computer science, and theoretical physics, as well as the life sciences. The Foundation’s life sciences programme also supports multidisciplinary research on autism. The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, SFARI, funds research aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. SFARI’s extensive database of genetic and clinical information has rapidly become a vital resource for autism researchers. Dr Simons has also actively championed and worked on behalf of many non-profit organizations in New York City and her native Long Island. She is currently vice chairman of the board of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. In addition, she has been involved in improving academic options for children with special needs and youth in underserved communities. She is treasurer and former president of the Learning Spring School, a New York City school for children with diagnoses on the autism spectrum. She is also a member of the board of trustees at the East Harlem Tutorial Program, an after-school program in New York City.
Dmitry Borisovich Zimin
Dmitry Borisovich Zimin is Honorary President of Joint Stock Company VimpelCom (trade mark “Beeline”) Dr Zimin played the leading role in organizing the company as an efficient and rapidly developing enterprise and the first Russian Federation company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (November 15, 1996). A graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute (1957), for 35 years Dr Zimin occupied leading scientific positions in one of the USSR military-industrial establishment institutes. He received his Scientific Degrees of Candidate of Technical Sciences, corresponding to PhD (1963) and Doctor of Technical Sciences, the highest scientific degree in Russia (1984). Currently Dr Zimin is Professor of the State University - High School of Economics, the Head of Liberal Mission Foundation Board and the Board Member of the Russia Managers Association. He is a winner of Scientific Prize of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1965) and the Russian Federation State Prize (1993). Dr Zimin served as VimpelCom’s President and Chief Executive Officer from 1992 until May 2001. In May 2001 Dr Zimin left the position of Chief Executive Officer and became the Honorary President. The Board of Directors awarded him the title “The Founder of the Company”. In 2001 Dr Zimin established Foundation entitled “Dynasty”. The Dynasty Fund has as its principal purpose backing and popularization of Russian academic fundamental science.
Previous winners of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy include:
2001:
Walter Annenberg & Leonore Annenberg
Brooke Astor
Irene Diamond
The Gates Family
The Rockefeller Family
George Soros
Ted Turner
2003:
Kazuo Inamori
The Sainsbury Family
2005:
His Highness the Aga Khan
The Cadbury Family
Tom Farmer
Agnus Gund
The Hewlett Family
The Packard Family
2007:
Eli Broad
The Heinz Family
The Mellon Family
The Tata Family
2009:
Michael R. Bloomberg
The Koc Family
Betty Moore & Gordon Moore
Joan Weill & Sanford Weill
2011:
The Crown Family
The Danforth Family
Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller
Fred Kavli
Evelyn and Leonard Lauder
Jo Carole and Ronald Lauder
Li Ka-shing
Pamela and Pierre Omidyar
The Pew Family
The Pritzker Family