JIMMY WALES RECEIVES THE GOTTLIEB DUTTWEILER PRIZE
The Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize was presented to Jimmy Wales at a formal ceremony held on the evening of 26 January 2011. The founder of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia accepted the award at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI ) in Rüschlikon/Zurich in the presence of some 300 invited guests from the arts, politics and business fields. The laudatory speech was delivered by Roger de Weck, Director General of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).
Jimmy Wales was awarded the prestigious prize for his services in making access to knowledge more democratic. The award, which is endowed with 100,000 Swiss francs, was presented by Gisèle Girgis, member of the Executive Board of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. In her speech she evoked the name of the encyclopedist of the Enlightenment, Denis Diderot, and compared Jimmy Wales with him: "Both of them have faith in the power of the critical public."
Claude Hauser, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (MGB), emphasised the parallels between the non-profit encyclopedia and Gottlieb Duttweiler's non-profit-oriented organisation, the Migros Culture Percentage.