The ‘Courage and Civility’ award was conferred on chef José Andrés and political commentator Van Jones by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Tuesday.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos flew into space on his company Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on Tuesday, marking a historic moment in space travel. Upon his return to the planet, he announced a $100 million “Courage and Civility” award which will be conferred on leaders who engage the public to counter challenges facing the human race.
American political commentator Van Jones and celebrity chef José Andrés have been the first two who have been conferred by the “Courage and Civility” award. Each of the award winners will receive a sum of $100 million.
To mark the success of his company Blue Origin’s first passenger spaceflight, Jeff Bezos addressed a press conference saying that, both Van Jones and José Andrés could donate the award money, if they wanted, either to one non-profit or split it among many. More of these awards could be given away to others in the future, said the Amazon founder.
Picture perfect landing in the West Texas desert! #NSFirstHumanFlight pic.twitter.com/UXQvzBkq6P
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 20, 2021
Spanish chef José Andrés (52) is a Spanish chef and a leading humanitarian world over. Andrés is best known as the brains behind World Central Kitchen, a non-profit he founded in 2010, he is also a New York Times bestselling author and a TV celebrity.
The World Central Kitchen works in collaboration with relief agencies across the globe to provide meals to victims of natural disasters. It also aims to put an end to world hunger through innovative solutions and the participation of local chefs.
José Andrés was also named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people for the second time in 2018.
They let me help plate the meals at @WCKitchen partner Ranch Catering in New Delhi! ☺️ This is an amazing okra dish called Bhindi do Pyaza… We loaded 500 meals in the truck for lunch delivery to Burari Hospital—which is only for Covid patients. #ChefsForIndia @SanjeevKapoor pic.twitter.com/nTyVVrQbwC
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) June 3, 2021
Van Jones (52) is a highly respected TV host and author. He hosts the Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project on CNN. Jones has served as Special Advisor to the then US president Barack Obama in 2009 and is also a three-time New York Times bestselling author.
Jones founded a number of non-profits, the most significant of them being The Dream Corps. The Dream Corps is an incubator that supports powerful ideas and innovations to “uplift and empower the most vulnerable” in society.
Sometimes dreams do come true.
Thank you, @JeffBezos. https://t.co/q12HBphm6m
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) July 21, 2021
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