Manuel Castells received the Holberg Prize 2012

H.R.H The Crown Princess Mette-Marit presented today the Holberg International Memorial Prize 2012 to the Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells. The award ceremony took place in Håkonshallen in Bergen.

 

- This year’s Holberg Prize Laureate helps us understand how modern information and media technology influence our lives, the possibilities provided to us by these new tools, but also their limitations. I congratulate Professor Castells with the prize, says Minister for Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen.

This year’s Holberg Prize Laureate, Manuel Castells is professor of sociology and communications studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley and at the Open University of Catalonia. Among his most important works is the trilogy The Information Age, in which he analyzes how new information technology affects all parts of society.

From the citation of the Holberg Prize Academic Committee: “Manuel Castells is the leading sociologist of the city and new information and media technologies. His ideas and writings have shaped our understanding of the political dynamics of urban and global economies in the network society”.  

The Holberg Prize is worth 4,5 million NOK and was established by the Norwegian government in 2003. It is awarded annually for outstanding scientific work in the fields of humanities, social sciences, law and theology.

At today’s award ceremony in Håkonshallen, Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen also presented the Nils Klim award to the Danish researcher Sara Hobolt at London School of Economics and Political Science. The Nils Klim award is worth 250.000 NOK and is awarded annually to young Nordic researchers in the fields of humanities, social sciences, law and theology.

Sara Hobolt has already achieved impressing academic results in comparative politics, and I hope that this award will inspire her in her future research career. I also hope that this can serve as inspiration for other young researchers, says Minister for Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen.