The Nobel Prize

Take a look at Gabriela Mistral receiving her Nobel Prize eighty years ago, on 10 December 1945. She received the literature prize "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world." Learn more: https://bit.ly/2WA4mBq Photo: Bettmann Via Getty Images. #WorldPoetryDay

What future applications can you see with artificial intelligence (AI)? Hear 2013 medicine laureate Randy Schekman speak about the power of AI and future applications of the tool. Schekman identified three classes of genes that control different facets of the cell's transport system, thereby providing new insights into the tightly regulated machinery that mediates vesicle transport in the cell. For this he was awarded the 2013 medicine prize. #NobelPrize

“Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us. We are on the move now.” 1964 peace laureate Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words after the end of the Selma to Montgomery marches. The marches were one of the turning points in the civil rights movement and were organised to protest the blocking of Black Americans' right to vote. The first march began Sunday, March 7, 1965. A group of 600 marchers, led by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee chairman John Lewis and Reverend Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, began the 54-mile (87 km) walk from Selma to Montgomery. The march proceeded until the protesters arrived at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At the bridge, law enforcement officials attacked the marchers. More than sixty marchers were injured. Cameras captured the scene of peaceful activists being violently attacked. This caused mass outrage and drew civil rights and religious leaders of all faiths to Selma in protest. Two days later, Martin Luther King Jr. led around 2,000 marchers in another march. The march was again stopped at the same bridge. On March 21, the third march began with King and activists setting out from Selma. The march took five days. By the time they reached Montgomery their number had grown to more than 25,000, before they gathered to hear King and 1950 peace laureate Ralph Bunche speak. Five months later, the U.S. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which aimed to correct the barriers preventing African Americans from using their right to vote. More about peace laureate Martin Luther King Jr: https://lnkd.in/d57XjN7

When Wisława Szymborska was asked in a letter why she was awarded the Nobel Prize she didn’t send a response but her secretary claims that she was very tempted to answer that it was “because obviously Swedes are weird.” Szymborska’s sense of humour, playfulness and wittiness is also reflected in her poetry. Irony and deceptive simplicity are elements that are recognised in all her written pieces. She lived a modest and private life before being awarded the literature prize. Her friends supposedly joked about her being the only poet in the world that didn’t want to receive a Nobel Prize. Szymborska often described the year after the award as overwhelming. In her spare time, Szymborska was very passionate about making collages that she gave to friends and acquaintances. She is remembered as one of our most beloved poets of the 20th century. Learn more about Wisława Szymborska: https://bit.ly/49sPzg9 #WorldPoetryDay

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. - poem Gitanjali 35 by poet and literature laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. Tagore produced writings that are deeply rooted in both Indian and Western learning traditions. His poetry is felt to convey the peace of the soul in harmony with nature. The collection of prose 'Gitanjali' (1910) is one of his most famous literary works. Have you read 'Gitanjali'? #WorldPoetryDay

Did you know that Andre Geim (pictured right) is the only person to have received both a Nobel Prize and an 'Ig Nobel Prize' - which honours achievements that first make people laugh, then think. Geim was awarded his Nobel Prize for creating graphene, alongside Konstantin Novoselov (left), after using sticky tape to create a material just one atom thick. He was awarded his IgNobel for using magnets to levitate a frog. #WorldFrogDay

“When we unite, nothing can stop us.” Nadia Murad remains hopeful for the future because of young people who are standing united against injustices and discrimination. It's so important to continue fighting for peace, justice and accountability. Although we may feel helpless, Murad reminds us that, “Every one of us has the power to do something.” Nadia Murad was awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Denis Mukwege for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

Despite his teacher’s opinion that he couldn’t learn simple biological facts, John Gurdon managed - in a classical experiment in 1962 - to replace the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. This modified egg cell developed into a normal tadpole. The DNA of the mature cell still had all the information needed to develop all cells in the frog. For this achievement, he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: https://bit.ly/2IMtRJc

On International French Language Day, we want to highlight the work of 2022 literature laureate and French writer Annie Ernaux. Relying on her memories, Ernaux's writing allows readers to witness France's growth. This includes the country's social, economic and political changes throughout the 20th and 21st centuries In her book "Les Années" (The Years), Ernaux writes about the years between the 1940s and 2006. She uses personal memories and the collective consciousness of France to capture this place in time. Some events include the Algerian War, May '68 strikes and Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency. The book uses popular phrases, songs, historical events, and personal anecdotes. This captures the evolution of women's place in French society and their struggles. She draws parallels between her life and the more universal struggles of women while also exploring France's social change during this time. Read some of her work: https://bit.ly/3LsWiNL

Besides being a spectacular writer, Nobel Prize laureate in literature Nadine Gordimer was a dedicated political activist in her home country South Africa. Her writing often depicts the after effects of racial conflicts and she was a vocal opponent of the South African apartheid system. When Gordimer’s best friend Bettie du Toit was arrested for protesting against the apartheid regime, Gordimer got the opportunity to meet and become close friends with Mandela’s defense lawyers. It is said that Gordimer helped Mandela edit and polish his “I am prepared to die” speech. Gordimer was one of the first people that Mandela wanted to see after being released from prison in 1990. The two Nobel Prize laureates often had dinner together and became good friends. Together they tried to eliminate the apartheid system in their home country, South Africa. Photo: Louise Gubb / Getty Images