Internet nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
The Internet has become one of the most unorthodox nominees for the Nobel prize for peace. But it faces the toughest competition in the award’s history.
The Nobel Institute has announced a record 237 individuals and organizations have been nominated for the award, the winner of which will be announced in October. It said “thousands” of people had nominated the Internet.
This appears to be a direct result of a campaign launched by the Italian edition of Wired magazine. The campaign’s website said the Internet deserved the honor because “democracy has always flourished where there is openness, acceptance, discussion and participation. And contact with others has always been the most effective antidote against hatred and conflict.”
It appears there have also been individual nominations for Larry Roberts and Vint Cerf, key figures in the creation of ARPAnet, the Internet’s forerunner, and Tim Berners-Lee, who devised the World Wide Web.
While it’s difficult to predict the winner, the most high-profile of the more conventional nominees are human rights activists from both China and Russia.
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