Perhaps one of the most prestigious prizes awarded on a global context, the Nobel Peace Prize has been an enigma since its ambiguous inception. While Alfred Nobel left behind a long legacy and a way for the world to annually commemorate the greatest minds each generation comes to find, there has been a large breadth of past winners, leaving the annual guessing game of who's on the short list and who's going to win a toss-up in most peoples' eyes. But to make an accurate guess you have to know the facts.
Unlike the other of Nobel's Prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, as opposed to the Swedish committees we have come to understand so well in the selection process over the past 113 years. And this great divide between the two selection committees is often seen in the prizes awarded. Since the reading of Alfred Nobel's will in 1895, there have great efforts made to maintain the original intentions that Nobel had, and that has translated into quite a diverse group of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates as the requirements and the generations being considered change.
And while the selection process and short lists are kept under strictest confidence, held as secrets for 50 years, the stats never lie. So here's how you can narrow down your guesses as the minutes count down.
Since the Nobel Peace Prize's inception in 1901, 94 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded, with only 2 divided between 3 people-so it's safe to assume a trio is out of the running. The average age of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the year they were awarded the prize is 62, so while they may be making a splash in headlines, Millennials are likely not considered either. And as only 3 Peace Prizes have been awarded to individuals under arrest at the time, as political prisoners, we're likely to see this year's winner at the frontlines rather than behind bars.
So, who does that leave? Well, while organizations who have only been awarded 25 times and women who have only won 15 times are rather marginalized in the group of Nobel Laureates, many analysts suspect that this year may just add to their rare numbers. With so many important females and organizations tackling hard-hitting topics in the news, regarding pollution, war and global climate, it's not too difficult to imagine the Norwegian Nobel Committee has also seen the same headlines we have. And while pandemics and war zones are still prevalent issues in our era, in my professional opinion this past year's greatest achievements have been in not only realizing but calling to action change against issues of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change-a problem that faces citizens on a global level, and likely one worthy of a Peace Prize. With less than 30 minutes until the name is revealed, we're on the edge of our seats, and if you'd like to watch the announcement along with us, you can find it here! Good luck guessing, we hope your educated guess is even better than ours.
