According to the foundation, professors Ilari Sääksjärvi and Minna Halme and conductor Dalia Stasevska have also made a mark as social influencers.
The foundation annually awards two to three persons or entities for their activities in the fields of science, art and civil society.
There were 48 nominations for the award this year.
Dalia Stasevska
Dalia Stasevska is currently the chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, the main guest of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of the Sibelius Festival.
The award committee describes Stasevska as becoming one of the world’s most respected conductors in a short time. In addition to her career, according to the foundation, Stasevska has shown a strong will to influence the construction of a fairer and more equal world.
Minna Halme
Professor Minna Halme works as a professor of management at Aalto University’s School of Economics, where she has been founding the interdisciplinary Creative Sustainability master’s program, Aalto Global Impact and Aalto Sustainability Hub.
According to the award committee, Halme’s research has shown how new business models can be used to solve major problems such as loss of nature, climate change or global poverty. Halme is also said to have pointed out that a more sustainable business can also be economically more reasonable in the long term.
Ilari Sääksjärvi
Professor Ilari Sääksjärvi works as the head of the Biodiversity Unit at the University of Turku and vice-chairman of the Finnish Nature Panel.
According to the award committee, Sääksjärvi, like Minna Halmee, has distinguished herself as a scientist, teacher and social influencer.
Sääksjärvi has earned a reputation in the study of the diversity of poorly known tropical insects.
The award committee describes Sääksjärvi as having illustrated how in many ways the protection of nature is connected to the balance of society and the environment, and praises the professor’s work as a science educator and disseminator of knowledge.
