Internet nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

In competition against Russian and Chinese dissidents

3 February 2010 14:52 GMT / By Duncan Geere

The Internet has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the editor of Wired magazine's Italian edition. The Web, which is routinely employed by activists in repressed countries for getting their message out, was called a "weapon of mass construction".

The Nobel Committee keeps its nominations secret for 50 years, but some announce that they have nominated people. Pitted against the Web for the prize are Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina and her group Memorial, and Liu Xiaobo, a recently jailed Chinese dissident.

Wired's Italian edition said that the Web promotes ""dialogue, debate and consensus through communication". The nomination has been supported by the 2003 winner of the prize, Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi. However, it's not clear who would pick up the prize on behalf of the Web - perhaps its creators, Larry Roberts, Vinton Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee.

Thousands of fans have called for Michael Jackson to be nominated for the prize in a web petition with 55,000 signatures to date, but posthumous nominations are not permitted, so the King of Pop has missed his chance.

Would you support the internet's nomination? Or is it still too soon to judge the long-term effects of the Web on the world? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Via: forbes.com

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Comments

Al Gore. After all, he created the Internet. ;-) Posted by Elie, Israel
I think the nomination would have more effect if it went to Berners-Lee et al. instead of the web.

Makes a lot of sense though - what else has enabled open communication so effectively, and become so easily hackable that it has highlighted a lot of corruption. Posted by Rob, Bristol, UK
Internet aka Web is called “the weapon of mass construction.” Don’t get surprised if you see “Internet” climb the podium to collect the Nobel Peace Prize award in 2010. The Internet has made the list of nominees going up against a Chinese dissident and a Russian human rights activist among others.

http://thetechjournal.com/internet/the-internet-has-been-selected-for-the-nobel-peace-prize-2010-confirmed.xhtml Posted by TheTechJournal, Bangladesh