Leif Erikson Awards

Leif Erikson Awards
The Exploration Awards
Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt receives the 2015 Leif Erikson award from Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland.
Awarded for achievements in exploration and for work in the field of exploration history.
Location Húsavík
Country Iceland
Website explorationmuseum.com

The Leif Erikson Awards, sometimes referred to as the Exploration Awards,[1] are awarded annually by the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland, for achievements in exploration and for work in the field of exploration history.[2] They are awarded in three categories; to an explorer for a lifetime achievement in exploration; to a young explorer under the age of 35 for achievements in exploration; and to a person or an organization that has worked to promote and preserve exploration history.

The awards ceremony takes place annually in Húsavík. The Leif Erikson Awards are the main and final event of the annual Húsavík Explorers Festival. They were first awarded in 2015 and will be awarded next in September 2018.[3]

The awards are named for Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, considered as the first European to land in North America[4] and who, according to the Sagas of Icelanders, established the first Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada.

The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, and his predecessor, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, have both presented the awards.[5]

Scientific Committee

The winners of the Leif Erikson awards are voted by the members of the Exploration Museum's Scientific Committee.[6] The committee is appointed for one year by the board of the museum, except for the chairperson, who is the winner of the previous year's Exploration History Award.[7][8][9]

2015

The 2015 Leif Erikson Awards were announced by the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, on 9 July at the Reykjavík University Auditorium. [10][11]

Winner Award
Harrison Schmitt
Apollo 17 astronaut
 United States		Leif Erikson Award
Awarded for his scientific work on the surface of the Moon in 1972 and for his part in the geology training of the astronauts that walked on the Moon before him.[12]
Jessica Watson
Sailor
 Australia		Young Explorer Award
Awarded for completing a non-stop and unassisted southern hemisphere solo circumnavigation of the world at the age of 16.[13][14]
Huw Lewis-Jones
Author and historian
 United Kingdom		Exploration History Award
Awarded for his writings on visual culture, seafaring, polar exploration, mountaineering, and remote environments.[15]

2016

The 2016 Leif Erikson Awards were announced by the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, on 22 October at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík.

Winner Award
Scott Parazynski
Astronaut and Mountaineer
 United States		Leif Erikson Award
Awarded for his lifetime of exploration, as a veteran of five Space Shuttle flights and seven spacewalks, and as the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest.[16]
Tashi and Nungshi Malik
Mountaineers
 India		Young Explorer Award
Awarded as the youngest persons, at the date, to have completed the Last Degree Explorers Grand Slam, at the age of 23. First siblings and twins to climb the Seven Summits and reach both Poles.[17]
Draken Harald Hårfagre
crew and builders
 Norway		Exploration History Award
Awarded for their expedition to retrace the first trans-Atlantic crossing and the Viking discovery of the New World.[18]

2017

The 2017 Leif Erikson Awards were presented by BBC World News Anchor Babita Sharma, on 23 September at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík.[19]

Winner Award
Edurne Pasaban
Mountaineer
 Spain		Leif Erikson Award
Awarded for becoming the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World between 2001 and 2010.[20]
Alex Bellini
Sailor
 Italy		Young Explorer Award
Awarded for crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a rowing boat, solo, within the age of 30. It took him 227 days to cover 11.000 km through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and he spent 294 days traversing the 18.000 km through the Pacific.[21]
Haraldur Sigurðsson
Volcanologist
 Iceland		Exploration History Award
Awarded for his scientific commitment and writings on volcanology. He has carried out research on the Santorini volcano since 1975. His volcanic research also includes work on the famous eruption of Vesuvius in Italy in 79 AD, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum.[22]

2018

The 2018 Leif Erikson Awards will be announced in September 2018. Nominations are scheduled to be accepted in January 2018. [23]

Explorers Festival

The Leif Erikson Awards are the main event of the annual Húsavík Explorers Festival. The festival was first held in 2015 with events in Húsavík and Reykjavík. The format of the festival took shape in 2016 and has stayed the same since, with the festival consisting of short expeditions and outdoor activities around Húsavík, young explorers workshops, talks by explorers, concerts, film screenings and art exhibitions.[24][25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Giuditta Gubbi & Francesco Perini (11 November 2015). "The Exploration Awards". The Exploration Museum. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Gabriele Schneider (24 November 2015). "Leifur-Eirikson-Entdeckerpreise verliehen" (in German). Iceland Review. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Francesco Benigni (16 November 2015). "Esplorazione spaziale, due jesini nella commissione dei "Leif Erikson Awards"" (in Italian). Ancona Today. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Sverrir Jakobsson (14 July 2001). "Vísindavefurinn: Var Leifur Eiríksson ekki Grænlendingur sem átti rætur að rekja til Íslands og Noregs?" (in Icelandic). Visindavefur.hi.is. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "10 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Leif Erikson". The Dockyards. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Exploration Museum's Scientific Committee". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson (11 November 2015). "Hlutu Könnunarverðlaun Leifs Eiríkssonar" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "2015 Leif Erikson Awards – Press conference". The Exploration Museum. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Charles Gittins (23 November 2015). "The Leif Erikson Exploration Awards". Iceland Monitor. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Vala Hafstad (22 November 2015). "Leif Erikson Exploration Awards Presented". Iceland Review. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Pétursson, Heimir Már (9 July 2015). "The moon smells like Gunpowder (Icelandic)". 365 Media. Channel 2. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  12. ↑ "Astronaut Harrison Schmitt awarded the Leif Erikson Exploration Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Jessica Watson awarded the Leif Erikson Young Explorer Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  14. ↑ AP (21 August 2010). "14-Year-Old Sets Sail to Circle the Globe". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones awarded the Leif Erikson Exploration History Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Smala, Signe (21 November 2016). "Exploring Exploration: The Explorers Festival Comes To Húsavík". Reykjavík Grapevine. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  17. ↑ Sharma, Nihi (29 October 2016). "Everest twins bag Leif Erikson Explorer Award in Iceland". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "American astronaut, modern Norwegian vikings and Indian twin climbers win exploration awards". Húsavík Observer. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Babita Sharma to present Leif Erikson Awards in Húsavík". Húsavík Observer. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  20. ↑ "Mountaineer Edurne Pasaban awarded Leif Erikson Exploration Award". Húsavík Observer. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  21. ↑ "Leif Erikson Exploration Awards". Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  22. ↑ Hreiðarsson, Hafþór (23 September 2017). "Climbed all highest mountains in 9 years". Morgunblaðið.
  23. ↑ "Húsavík Explorers Festival". Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  24. ↑ "Explorers Festival to be held in Iceland". Iceland Monitor. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  25. ↑ Ward, Charley (2 November 2017). "Húsavík Explorers Festival 2017: Through Fire And Ice". Reykjavík Grapevine. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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