Champalimaud Vision Award announced in Brussels

The António Champalimaud Vision Award was announced in Brussels by the Board of the Champalimaud Foundation. The €1 million science prize will be granted for the first time next year (2007). 

On the 28th of March 2006, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, received the board of the Champalimaud Foundation (CF).

Following the meeting, there was a press conference of Janez Potocnik, member of the Commission in charge of Science and Research, together with Leonor Beleza, president of CF.

Leonor Beleza emphasised that the award intends to encourage the work made to fight blindness, as well as to boost the development of scientific research in vision.

Regulation

The € 1.0 million CF annual award is for outstanding contributions that have provided major breakthroughs in the understanding of vision and associated areas or in the alleviation of visual impairment and blindness.

The award will have the support of Vision 2020 – The right to see, a global initiative for the prevention of blindness launched with the UN´s World Health Organization.

The award will be given alternately between contributions to overall vision research and contributions, primarily in developing countries, to the alleviation of visual problems.
The award will be given to productive research groups, not to single individuals. This may involve groups from more than one institution or discipline.
The award will be given through a selection process from among: applications received directly from potential awardees; groups identified by the jury and invited to apply; or nominations from the scientific community.
The jury of the award will consist of a distinguished panel of outstanding scientists involved in vision research, and of exceptional public figures involved in meeting the needs of the developing world.
The award may be used in any way that furthers the outstanding contribution of the recipients.
The award will be given for the first time in 2007 to a contribution, primarily in developing countries, to alleviation of visual problems.
Members of the jury

Mark Bear
Jacques Delors
António Guterres
Gullapalli N. Rao
Mary Robinson
Joshua Sanes
Amartya Sen
Carla Shatz
Paul Sieving
Alfred Sommer
Susumu Tonegawa
José Cunha-Vaz

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