It is now clear that the 2018 FUF Prize will be awarded to Anna-Karin Gauding. She has worked for several decades in Latin America to promote democracy, human rights and international exchanges. In addition, she has created many bonds between people in Sweden and Latin America.
The jury's motivation is:
"Anna-Karin Gauding is awarded the FUF Prize 2018 for her tireless work for democracy, development and respect for human rights in Latin America, and for being a driving force in creating cooperation and exchange of knowledge between people in Sweden and Latin America."
Anna-Karin Gauding has worked with aid and international exchanges in Latin America since the 1970s when she went as a volunteer with UBV (now the Latin American groups) to Chile. She has fought to promote democracy and human rights on the continent, not least during the difficult years of dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s.
In recent decades, she has worked with the aid organization Diakonia and built up the organization Corporación Edelstam, which works with human rights in memory of Harald Edelstam's deeds during the dictatorship.
In 2013, she started the Chilean-Swedish Cultural Institute (Instituto Chileno Sueco de Cultura), where she has been chairman for 1,5 years. She has also organized countless exchanges of knowledge between Sweden and Latin American countries, for example on renewable energy and waste management, and works part-time with projects on circular economy in an inter-municipal waste company in Santiago.
In 2014, Anna-Karin Gauding was awarded the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins by the then President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. The words Bernardo O'Higgins are awarded to foreigners who have made particularly important contributions to the country.
Anna-Karin Gauding has written the books Between the sword and the chalice on popular movements and democracy in Latin America and Lazos solidarios: la cooperación sueca en Chile 1970-2010 on Sweden's development cooperation with Chile. She has also been the editor of the book Voice collar which contains testimonies from people who were rescued or worked with Harald Edelstam.
2007 did was Anna-Karin Gauding Summer talker on Swedish Radio. She has lived in Santiago, Chile for many years.
FUF award is an annual prize awarded by the Association for Development Issues for particularly good efforts in international development and development assistance. In the spring, Anna-Karin Gauding as FUF laureate will hold a seminar in Stockholm.
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