Holberg Prize News

How did the 2017 Holberg Laureate come to be interested in Kant? To what extent is public reasoning lacking today? Is Brexit a good or bad thing, and what are the dark side of human rights? These are some of the questions Professor Onora O'Neill addresses in this interview.

The Holberg Prize 2017 is awarded to British scholar and Philosophy Professor Onora O'Neill, University of Cambridge, for her influential role in ethical and political philosophy. The Nils Klim Prize is awarded to Norwegian Professor of Economics Katrine Vellesen Løken, University of Bergen, for her ground-breaking research on the Nordic welfare states.

The Holberg Committee convened in Paris recently to submit its recommendation for the 2017 Laureate, and Julia Kristeva held a talk at the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

How can we build a framework for ‘civilized conflict’ in multicultural societies characterized by political unrest and continuously changing media landscapes? Freedom of speech was on the agenda at the first ever Holberg Debate, with Timothy Garton Ash as keynote speaker.

The Holberg Committee met in Vienna 20-22 October and decided on the final shortlist for the Holberg Prize 2017. We are now one step further along in the process of selecting a Holberg Prize Laureate for next year.

3 December 2016 sees the launch of the Holberg Debate. The debate is inspired by Ludvig Holberg’s ideas of enlightenment and seeks to find answers on pressing issues to our time.

The Holberg Prize is pleased to announce that Britt Andersen and Knut Olav Åmås have been appointed as new members to the Board of the Holberg Prize.