Raftostiftelsen - Projects

Rebiya Kadeer (right), the 2004 Rafto Prize Laureate, during the presentation of the Rafto book «In the World of Good and Evil» at a bookstore in Bergen on November 4, 2006. On the left: Sidik Haji Rouzi, Rebiya Kadeer's husband. Photo: Andrei Liankevich/the Rafto Foundation.

Projects

The most important task of the Rafto Foundation is the annual award of the Rafto Prize. The Rafto Foundation also runs various projects relating to human rights issues in the countries of former Rafto Prize Laureates. We also focus on information and education activities.

The Rafto Prize

The annual award of the Professor Thorolf Rafto Prize for Human Rights (the Rafto Prize) is the pillar and most important task of the Rafto Foundation. Each year one person, organisation or group receives the prize for their work on human rights. The prize aims to highlight forgotten or hidden struggles that need international attention.

Follow-up projects
The Rafto Foundation aims to follow up some of the former Rafto Prize Laureates. Due to limited resources the foundation has had to choose to focus its attention on a few of the many human rights issues in the world today, including: the Uyghur issue in China, Belarus, Burma, the Kurds, the Dalits in India, Chechnya, the North-Korea issue, Western Sahara and DR Congo.

The Foundation organises conferences, seminars and meetings about the issues the Rafto Laureates represent, and places particular importance on the spreading of information. The Foundation also aims to support the former Rafto Laureates in their work for human rights and democracy.

Education

The Rafto Foundation offers courses on human rights issues for pupils, students, teachers and other interested groups. We emphasise the universal quality of human rights, and at the same time, the understanding that each human being is unique. The dramatically different conditions under which people are living today, demands a better understanding of both our own environment and that of others, if we are to ensure the protection of human rights.

Rafto is experienced at educating groups on different levels, from primary school to university, and can easily adapt its courses for different purposes. We use the personal histories of the Rafto Laureates, documentary films, role-plays, discussions and practical exercises in order to encourage critical thinking, cooperation and creative problem-solving.