Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will be awarded the Fetzer Institute's Prize for Love and Forgiveness on Friday, December 4, at a conference on the campus of the University of Cape Town.
Named a joint recipient with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, each winner receives a $100,000 monetary award to support his work and a handcrafted, inscribed journal, Idasa from the African Democracy Institute.
A statement received by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Thursday said: "The Institute's Prize honours the courage and persistence with which Archbishop Emeritus Tutu and His Holiness have both worked to bring love, compassion and forgiveness to all that they do as well as their ability to inspire these same impulses in others around the world."
Tom Beech, president and Chief Executive Officer of the Fetzer Institute said: "Love, compassion and forgiveness have the power to change, the power to heal and the power to transform any situation-no matter how violent or troubled-into something that is generative and life-giving.
"Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama are renowned, revered, respected and loved the world over. In giving this award, the Fetzer Institute
celebrates their humanity and the consistency with which their lives stand for compassion in the face of isolation, love in the face of fear and forgiveness in the face of violence."
The statement said by awarding the Institute's first Prize for Love and Forgiveness jointly, the Fetzer Institute recognised the rich friendship and profound joy shared by Archbishop Emeritus Tutu and His Holiness. They dedicate their lives to promoting human dignity-lending their voices and leadership to a broad spectrum of issues.
Another part of its work to promote the awareness of the power of love, forgiveness and compassion, the Fetzer Institute is the primary sponsor of the "Charter for Compassion," a collaborative effort to build a peaceful and
harmonious global community.
The Charter is the result of noted author and scholar Karen Armstrong's commitment to change the world. It is a project on which Desmond Tutu serves as a key advisor.
"The Charter for Compassion focuses on the Golden Rule, which, as Armstrong notes, "calls us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives
us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain upon anybody else.
"If we wish to create a viable world order, we must try to implement the Golden Rule globally, treating all peoples-even those who seem far removed from us-as we would wish to be treated ourselves."