Secularist of the Year
Encyclopedia
The Secularist of the Year award (a.k.a. The Irwin Prize) is presented annually to the individual considered to have made the greatest contribution to secularism
in the previous year by the UK's National Secular Society
. The prize is a cheque for £5000; it was first awarded in 2005, and is sponsored by Dr. Michael Irwin
.
No award was presented in 2008, because the event was postponed to February 2009 in order to coincide with the National Secular Society's "200th Birthday Party for Charles Darwin".
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
in the previous year by the UK's National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
. The prize is a cheque for £5000; it was first awarded in 2005, and is sponsored by Dr. Michael Irwin
Michael Irwin
Michael Henry Knox Irwin is a retired GP and former medical director of the United Nations. He is a humanist and secularist activist and a campaigner for voluntary euthanasia.-Life:...
.
No award was presented in 2008, because the event was postponed to February 2009 in order to coincide with the National Secular Society's "200th Birthday Party for Charles Darwin".
Prize winners
- 2005 - Maryam NamazieMaryam NamazieMaryam Namazie is a human rights activist, commentator and broadcaster. Namazie has served as the executive director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees. She is spokesperson for the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain. The campaign is opposed to faith based laws...
(presented by Polly ToynbeePolly ToynbeePolly Toynbee is a British journalist and writer, and has been a columnist for The Guardian newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and broadly supports the Labour Party, while urging it in many areas to be more left-wing...
) - 2006 - Steve JonesSteve Jones (biologist)John Stephen Jones is a Welsh geneticist and from 1995 to 1999 and 2008 to June 2010 was Head of the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. His studies are conducted in the Galton Laboratory. He is also a television presenter and a prize-winning author on...
(presented by Dick Taverne) - 2007 - Mina AhadiMina AhadiMina Ahadi is an Austrian human rights activist. As an Iranian born Communist political activist she is a current member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran....
(presented by Joan Smith) - 2008/2009 - Evan HarrisEvan HarrisEvan Leslie Harris is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservative Nicola Blackwood....
MP and Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron AveburyEric Lubbock, 4th Baron AveburyEric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, PC is an English politician. A Liberal Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1970, he succeeded as Baron Avebury in 1971...
(presented by Richard DawkinsRichard DawkinsClinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
) - 2010 - The Southall Black SistersSouthall Black SistersSouthall Black Sisters is a non-profit All-Asian organisation based in Southall, West London, UK. This Asian-women's group was established in August 1979 in the aftermath of the death of anti-fascist activist Blair Peach, who had taken part in a demonstration against a National Front rally at...
support group (presented by Dr. Michael IrwinMichael IrwinMichael Henry Knox Irwin is a retired GP and former medical director of the United Nations. He is a humanist and secularist activist and a campaigner for voluntary euthanasia.-Life:...
, accepted by Pragna Patel) - 2011 - Sophie in 't VeldSophie in 't VeldSophia Helena in 't Veld is a Dutch Member of the European Parliament for the social liberal party Democrats 66 as part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.-Biography:...
MEPMember of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(presented by A. C. GraylingA. C. GraylingAnthony Clifford Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, a private undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991...
)