News: Apr 22, 2021
The 2021 winner of the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award has been revealed. The prestigious award goes to the Icelandic whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson who, with his life at stake, led the revelation of a widespread corruption scandal connected to fishing quotas in Namibia. The prize of 1 million SEK is presented to the winner at the award ceremony in Gothenburg, Sweden in October.
“Corruption is one of the greatest obstacles to global sustainable development. It affects the world’s most vulnerable the hardest and has a negative impact on society as a whole, as well as the planet itself.
Jóhannes Stefánsson is the whistleblower who exposed the “Fishrot Files”, an extensive corruption scandal with connections to Iceland and Namibia. In 2016 he stepped back from a leading management position within Icelandic fishing company Samherjis in Namibia, in protest against the company’s improper procurement of fishing quotas in exchange for financial services. Jóhannes Stefánsson has since been living under constant threats and even attempts on his life. His bravery highlights the importance of individual acts of integrity, not least within the sectors of industry and commerce. Jóhannes Stefánsson has demonstrated great courage and selflessness in his fight against misuse of power and corruption.
It is our honour to present this year’s WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award to Jóhannes Stefánsson.”
This year the world’s leading sustainability award, WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, is recognising individuals and organisations that fight corruption. Successful anti-corruption initiatives are crucial for sustainable development all over the world.
WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award aims to recognise and support outstanding contributions from around the world for the benefit of humans, the planet and our common future. The WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award Secretariat is located at GMV. This year's winner of the WIN WIN Award was announced on April 21, at the Agenda 2030 i Väst's Forum Antikorruption som förutsättning för att nå de Globala målen.
Read more about WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award and this year´s winner
