Prince Albert II has been awarded the German ‘Press Freedom Prize’ in recognition of his commitment to the protection of the environment.
Prince Albert travelled to the Ludwig Erhard Summit in Tegernsee on 17^th January where he received the Freiheitsprise der Medien – Press Freedom Prize. Organised by the Weimer Media Group (WMG), the event honours public figures who are committed to freedom of expression, and rewarded Monaco’s Sovereign Prince for his decisive role in favour of Nature.
“Prince Albert II has engaged in the preservation of nature more than any head of state in recent years,” Thomas F. Hofmann, President of the Technical University of Munich, said in his speech.
The prize acknowledges the Prince’s action, notably through his foundation, in working “not only against pollution of the Ocean, against global warming caused by industrial emissions, or even against melting ice in the polar regions, but which also continually draws our attention to the protection of biodiversity, the promotion of renewable energies and access to water,” said Thomas F. Hofmann. “The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which he created in 2006, is considered worldwide as a flagship initiative for the preservation of the environment. These numerous initiatives and successes have made you today a respected international figure in the fight for environmental protection.”
In accepting the award, Prince Albert spoke of the close link which unites the protection of our Planet and freedom of the press, saying: “at the heart of the environmental fight there is indeed a requirement of truth, a truth which is first of all scientific and which must reach us, even if it disturbs in the need for change, which it highlights. This is why freedom of information, in the field of the environment, is a requirement, but it can also be a struggle, a fight based on this freedom of the media but which must also mobilise each one of us.”
 
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