Nominations for the President Valdas Adamkus Prize are Now Open

The Press Committee in Adamkus’s Election Headquarters in 1968. Adamkus can be seen sitting in the middle of the first row, Dana Gedvila is sitting to his right, and Gabrielius Gedvila is sitting in the right-hand corner (photo from Gedvila family archive)

Submissions for nominations for the President Valdas Adamkus Prize begin on 20 January. The Prize of the Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum and Dana Gedvila Fund will be awarded for laudable and noteworthy achievements and efforts to protect and restore the natural environment in Lithuania and its neighbouring countries, and to ensure the sustainability of resources.

The founders of the Prize welcome nominations in the fields of science, society, politics, and business. Submissions for the President Valdas Adamkus Prize will be accepted from 20 January to 20 March of this year.

According to Dr. Mantas Antanas Davidavičius, consultant for the President Valdas Adamkus Prize, head of the Department of Philosophy at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), and an ecosophist, numerous noteworthy events took place in Lithuania’s environmental field in the past year. “For example, the active public debate and even protests on the future of our country’s forests that had started earlier continued, and the National Forest Agreement was pursued. The years-long debate on the fate of the Punia pinewood seems to have finally come to a conclusion – it has been decided to increase the size of the reserve located in the pinewood by five times. We also had the first National Environmental Exam, the number of solar power plants in the country grew more rapidly than ever before, the Seimas adopted various amendments to environmentally friendly laws… Finally, in Kaunas (the European Capital of Culture 2022), Vilnius and elsewhere in Lithuania, we had a variety of art and cultural initiatives aimed at raising environmental awareness,” says Davidavičius, also inviting to nominate individuals for their scientific inventions, initiatives that draw public attention to environmental issues, political decisions, or the development of sustainable solutions or products in business.

The winner of the Prize will be announced on 21 April, the eve of the International Mother Earth Day, and the award ceremony will take place on 5 June, the World Environment Day, at the VMU Botanical Garden. The winner will receive a sum of 5,000 euros and a sculpture “Gervė” (“Crane”) by sculptor Kęstutis Dovydaitis.

The winner will be chosen by the Prize Committee, which is made up of European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius, primatologist Dr. Birutė Galdikas, Director of the VMU Botanical Garden Dr. Nerijus Jurkonis, Director of KTU Centre for Packaging Innovations and Research Dr. Visvaldas Varžinskas, journalist Donatas Puslys, and Head of the Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum Arūnas Antanaitis.

In 2021, when the Prize was renewed, Mindaugas Survila, the director of the documentary film Sengirė, became the winner of the President Valdas Adamkus Prize for drawing the general public’s attention to the need to preserve unused forests, and last year, social activist Giedrius Bučas was awarded the Prize for his promotion of a sustainable lifestyle and social and artistic initiatives.

The founders of the award are the Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum and the Dana Gedvila Fund. The fund manager Gabrielius Gedvila is an old friend of President Valdas Adamkus. His late wife Dana was a passionate environmentalist. After she passed away, the family decided to set up a fund and use it to improve Lithuania’s environmental protection.

Until 1997, President Valdas Adamkus was the regional administrator for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He worked as the regional administrator for 17 years, with a total of 26 years of service. The Environmental Prize, initiated by Adamkus himself, was awarded between 1992 and 2005 with the goal of contributing to the environmental development in Lithuania. The Prize, renewed in 2021, is based on the UN Champions of the Earth format.

The categories in which nominees can be submitted and all other relevant information can be found here.

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