City officials recently congratulated and commended Joan Carling for being awarded with the prestigious Right Livelihood Laureate 2024 by the Right Livelihood Foundation.
In a resolution, local legislators stated that Carling’s recent achievement has brought honor and pride to the city and to the whole country as a whole.
The Right Livelihood Foundation. which has a consultative status with the United Nations, is a foundation based in Stockholm, Sweden and with an office at Geneva, Switzerland. It is also a courage-powered community for social change.
On the other hand, the Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to honor and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing the people today. It has become widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ and there are now 149 laureates from 62 countries.
The award aims to boost urgent and long-term social change. It honors individuals and organizations by recognizing their work and actions of the brave missionaries working for a more just, peaceful and sustainable world for all.
Carling is a Baguio resident and an indigenous activist who has been defending the rights of indigenous peoples for more than three decades. Her work spans grassroots and international levels, focusing on human rights, sustainable development, climate justice and the fight against land exploitation. Since the last 1990s, Carling has led multiple indigenous rights organizations. She continues to play a pivotal role in amplifying the voices of indigenous peoples across the country, Asia, and globally, with a focus on combatting the systematic marginalization and criminalization of indigenous communities.
Moreover, she has dedicated her life to protecting indigenous communities, often at great personal risk. She has been unjustly arrested, labelled a terrorist, falsely accused of crimes and received threats on her life. Despite the said challenges, she continues to fight for indigenous peoples rights, helping communities defend their lands and resist exploitation by powerful corporate and State interest.
Her advocacy has had a profound impact, from helping stop destructive mining projects opposed by indigenous communities to influencing policies on indigenous women’s rights at the United Nations which led her to being awarded with the prestigious Right Livelihood 2024 by the right Livelihood foundation last October 4, 2024.
Copies of the resolution will be transmitted to the awardee for information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action. By Dexter A. See
