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Global Environmental Citizen Awards

2009 Global Environmental Citizen Awards Honoring

Her Majesty Queen Noor and Edward Norton

Sunday, March 15, 2009
New York City
Presented by 2008 recipient Alice Waters

The Center's Global Environmental Citizen Awards recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to furthering knowledge about the global environment and promoting awareness about the need to protect natural resources. Naming Global Environmental Citizens every year furthers the Center's mission to study and promote a wider understanding of the human health consequences of global environmental change.

The black tie gala celebration featured sustainable cuisine prepared by award-winning chefs Dan Barber (Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns), Mary Cleaver (The Green Table), Michel Nischan (Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant) and Ana Sortun (Oleana).

Photo: Her Majesty Queen Noor, Center Director Eric Chivian, 2008 recipient Alice Waters, and Edward Norton.
Photo Credit: Heather Waraksa

Event Press Release
Download the event's sustainable cuisine menu
Download the event program
Sponsors

NEW YORK, New York (March 15, 2009) - Her Majesty Queen Noor and Edward Norton received the 2009 Global Environmental Citizen Awards from Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment today.

"We are proud to honor two knowledgeable and passionate environmental leaders, each striving to advance human health, well-being, and peace through their work," said Eric Chivian, MD, who shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and is director of the Center. "Both Queen Noor and Edward Norton have pioneered initiatives focused on health, sustainability, and a renewed sense of connection with the Earth, themes central to the mission of the Center."

Queen Noor currently chairs the Noor Al Hussein Foundation (NHF) and the King Hussein Foundation (KHF), organizations which emphasize education and leadership, democracy, justice, peace, poverty eradication, cross-cultural exchange, health, and the environment in their programs and which build on King Hussein's humanitarian vision and legacy. Beginning her work in Jordan in 1978, examples of Queen Noor’s leadership include: helping define Jordan's National Environmental Strategy, making Jordan the first Middle Eastern country to complete a comprehensive environmental plan; supporting the establishment of twelve nature reserves; creating more than 500 environmental school clubs, as well as jobs in eco-tourism, craft production, and other nature-based businesses in rural communities through the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature; establishing the Gulf of Aqaba's Marine Science Station; and launching the Children's Heritage and Science Museum, the Arab world's first children’s museum. For her activism in environmental protection, Queen Noor received the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award in 1995.

"The Center's unwavering mission to highlight the connections between human health and the environment, not just for our sake, but for our children and grandchildren's sake, make it a particular honor for me to receive this award today," said Queen Noor. "We must all work together to foster a global ethic based on sustainability, and I am encouraged and inspired by the achievements of both the Center and my fellow award recipient Edward Norton."

Edward Norton has been committed to environmental issues throughout his career. He has starred in 20 films, been nominated for two Academy Awards, and won a Golden Globe Award. His achievements include: a collaboration between his company, Class 5 Films, and Sea Studios Foundation on their highly acclaimed environmental series for National Geographic, Strange Days on Planet Earth, which Norton hosted and narrated; leadership of Enterprise Community Partner's Green Communities Initiative, a $500 million commitment to promoting sustainable and efficient development practices in the affordable housing sector; testimony before Congress's Select Committee on Climate Change, presenting Enterprise's recommendations for achieving sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction in the housing sector; the creation of a groundbreaking partnership between BP Solar and Enterprise so that each time a celebrity or public figure buys a home solar system, BP donates a full system to a low-income family; and his serving as a founding member of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity in East Africa through the promotion of conservation, education, and health services within the Maasai community.

"Clearly, we depend on the Earth and its ecosystems for our survival," said Edward Norton. "Educating people about the health of
the environment and advocating for sustainability in the way we live are missions I share with the Center and Her Majesty Queen Noor. I congratulate them for their work and accomplishments."

Alice Waters, a 2008 Global Environmental Citizen Award recipient and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe in Berkeley, California, presented the 2009 awards today in New York City. "As a past recipient, it is an honor for me to present these awards on behalf of the Center to two individuals so committed to global environmental issues," said Ms. Waters.

The Global Environmental Citizen Awards are presented annually by the Center for Health and the Global Environment to individuals who have been world leaders in protecting the global environment. The 2009 event featured local, sustainable cuisine prepared by award-winning master chefs Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns; Mary Cleaver of The Green Table; Michel Nischan of Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant; and Ana Sortun of Oleana and Sofra Bakery and Cafe. The event also featured eco-friendly fashion by Stewart+Brown.

*IMAGE DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE HERE

Premier Table Sponsorship

Swiss Re

Table Sponsorship

Premier Ticket Sponsorship

Deborah Fikes
Jennifer Small

Gift-in-Kind Sponsors

Acknowledgements

Sculptor: Jim Sardonis, sculptor of the Global Environmental Citizen Award Statues

Graphic Design: Gretchen Mendoza

Piano: David Caldwell-Mason

Volunteers: Samantha Choe, Mindy D'Ippolito, Hannah Frith, Julia Frith Quinn, Dustin Grzesik, Lisl Hacker, Bridget Henry, Emma Hollister, Yasushi Katsumi, Brian Knudsen, Kathryn Love, Lauren Salm, Joanne Sum-Ping, Sarah Zielinski.