NEWS
RELEASE
SEPTEMBER
22, 2005
 Scotland’s
First Minister to present Sir Tom Farmer with Carnegie Medal
First Minister Jack
McConnell is to present entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Farmer
with the philanthropic equivalent of a Nobel Prize, the Carnegie UK
Trusts announced today.
Mr McConnell is
one of six presenters who will attend this year’s Carnegie Medal
of Philanthropy and International Philanthropy Symposium at the Scottish
Parliament on October 4.
His Highness the
Aga Khan will receive the Carnegie medal from former President of Ireland
and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
Sir Tom Hunter,
founder of the Hunter Foundation and one of Scotland’s leading
philanthropists and businessmen, will present the award to the Packard
family.
Lord Sainsbury of
Turville, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and
Innovation, former chairman of J Sainsbury plc, will present the Carnegie
medal to Agnes Gund.
Former Secretary
General of Nato, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen will present the Medal
of Philanthropy to the Cadbury family.
President of the
Global Philanthropy Forum, Jane Wales will award the Hewlett family
with the Carnegie medal.
Named after Scots-American
philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who left the equivalent of $15 billion
to philanthropy, the Carnegie medal is awarded to inspiring philanthropists.
Presented every
two years to inspirational philanthropists and their families who have
dedicated their private wealth to public good, previous recipients
of the awards include the Gates, Rockefeller and Sainsbury families,
media tycoon Ted Turner and financier George Soros.
William
Thomson, a great grandson of Andrew Carnegie, and Chair of the Carnegie
Medal of Philanthropy Organising Committee and the International Selection
Committee, said: “The Carnegie medal organising committee selected
these presenters because of their renowned and international reputations
in the world of either public affairs or philanthropy.
“I
am delighted that they each accepted the invitation to present a Carnegie
medal.”
Mr
Thomson added: “In just four years, the Andrew Carnegie Medal
of Philanthropy has become recognised as the premier international
award for philanthropists.
“Its
nine recipients to date have all shared Andrew Carnegie’s vision
that redistributing one’s wealth for the common good is just
as important a task as building up that wealth in the first place.
“This
year we shall be awarding six Medals. The recipients have been selected
by an international selection committee representing the twenty-two
Carnegie foundations worldwide.
“The
impact of their philanthropy and the continuing work of their foundations
provides inspiration and role models for all of us.”
The
Carnegie Medal Ceremony will take place in the Parliamentary Debating
Chamber, hosted by the Presiding Officer the Rt Hon George Reid MSP,
and compered by BBC broadcaster and journalist Sally Magnusson.
More than 400 international
philanthropists and guests from the worlds of business, politics, the
media and non-governmental organisations will be attending the ceremony
at the Scottish Parliament on October 4.
The Carnegie Medal
of Philanthropy 2005 is being organised by the four Scottish-based
Carnegie foundations – the Carnegie Trust for the Universities
of Scotland, the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trusts and the
Carnegie UK Trust.
The event is being
supported by the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Executive, EventScotland,
Visit Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council
and Fife Council.
For further information
visit www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk.
-Ends-
NOTES TO
EDITORS
For further
information and pictures of the Carnegie Medalists, please contact:
Alex Barr +44
(0) 141 333 9585
Frances Donald +44
(0) 1592 643 200
Alison Middleton +44
(0) 1592 643 200
For further
information on the Scottish Parliament or Holyrood, please contact:
Sally Coyne +44
(0) 131 348 6265 |
