The very first Right Livelihood Award went to Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy (right, next to Jakob von Uexkull, who established the prize). He showed how to build for the poor and teach people to build for themselves. Stephen Gaskin, founder of the non-profit Plenty International relief agency, was chosen for "caring, sharing and acting with and on behalf of those in need at home and abroad."

Petra Kelly, one of the founders of Germany's Green Party, was the first female laureate. She received the award for "forging and implementing a new vision uniting ecological concerns with disarmament, social justice and human rights." Co-recipients: the Participatory Institute for Development Alternatives, Sir George Trevelyan, Eric Dammann and Anwar Fazal.

The jury chose US researcher Frances Moore Lappe of the Institute for Food and Development Policy because she has helped people understand that "all we waste is a sin." The other laureates: Johan Galtung, the Chipko movement, Mordechai Vanunu and German physicist Hans-Peter Dürr of the Global Challenges Network.

The Swedish author, beloved around the world for her children's books, was handed the award for" her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality." Servol, Hanumappa Sudarshan and Ken Saro-Wiwa also won the 1994 prize for their dedication in their various fields.

The 1996 award went to Greek teacher and practitioner of homeopathy, Georgos Vithoulkas, for his "outstanding contribution to the revival of homeopathic knowledge and the training of homeopaths to the highest standards." US economist Herman Daly and the committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia and the People's Science movement of Kerala were also recipients that year.

Australian professor Martin Green received the award for his "dedication and outstanding success in the harnessing of solar energy, the key technological challenge of our age." Burundi's Centre Jeunes Kamenge, the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation from Sweden and Martin Almada, a human rights activist from Paraguay, completed the line-up that year.

Alongside Argentinian Raul Montenegro, Swami Agnivesh and the Memorial Society, Bianca Jagger won the right Livelihood Award in 2004. The Nicaraguan-born human rights advocate was honored for "her dedicated commitment and campaigning for human rights, social justice and environmental protection."

The jury awarded Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki the prize for his advocacy of the "socially responsible use of science" and for helping raise awareness about the "perils of climate change and building public support for policies to address it." The other laureates were Congolese biologist Rene Ngongo, New Zealand peace educator Alyn Ware and Australian obstetrician Catherine Hamlin.

Three years ago, American former CIA employee Edward Snowden won the award "for his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights." The international jury also chose Alan Rusbridger, Asma Jahangir, Bill McKibben and Basil Fernando as recipients.

The Turkish daily Cumhuriyet won the award for its "fearless investigative journalism and commitment to freedom of expression in the face of oppression, censorship, imprisonment and death threats." The Syrian Civil Defense, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina and Egyptian feminist Mozn Hassan with the Nazra for Feminist Studies organiszation were also laureates last year.