Västra Nylands folkhögskola is proud to present the 2011 Kaj-Erik Nordström Award to Mr Mammo Kebbede Shenkut from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr Kebbede has taken several particularly noteworthy initiatives starting from a grass-root level for the development of adult education, for promoting access to education for new sectors of the population, and for creating a network of people and local organisations that continue to offer basic skills education to adults. The principles behind Mr Kebbede's work are the right to education for all, personal development, emancipation and active participation in society, the belief that education has a fundamental role in the development of a country and society. The activities conducted by Mr Kebbede reflect well the spirit of the folk high school movement set out by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig.

Mr Kebbede has demonstrated dedication to the cause of non-formal adult education and has succeeded in attracting the support of various national and international agencies. By promoting structures that offered non-formal adult education opportunities close to the people, Mr Kebbede has fostered a desire to learn among the general public, and particularly among the most vulnerable social categories, namely people living in the rural areas and women. He also developed and taught courses on managing education centres, to encourage the creation of independent non-formal education opportunities in remote areas, and coordinated the development of teaching and information materials to be used widely across Ethiopia.

The Award will be formally presented to the winner at a ceremony to be held at Västra Nylands folkhögskola, Karis, Finland, on 9 February 2012. The Award is accompanied by a prize of 2,000EUR.

The Award is established in memory of the late Principal of Västra Nylands folkhögskola, Kaj-Erik Nordström (1942-2004), a proponent of life-long learning well before the term existed. The Award is presented from 2011 onwards on an yearly basis to an individual from any part of the world who ahs made a particularly deserving contribution to adult education and popular enlightenment.

The members of the jury are:
Ms Astrid Thors, Member of the Finnish Parliament, Patron of the Award
Ms Celita Eccher, Secretary General of the International Council for Adult Education
Ms Kerstin Romberg, Principal of Västra Nylands folkhögskola
Ms Nina Nordström, Dr., representing Kaj-Erik Nordström's family
Mr Radu Szekely, Expert in Adult Education

Contact:
Radu Szekely
radu.szekely@vnf.fi
Coordinator of International Affairs
Västra Nylands folkhögskola
Pumpviken 3
10300 Karis
Finland
+358 19 222 6041

www.vnf.fi/award