African intellectuals say no to UNESCO's Obiang prize - SciDev.Net

African intellectuals say no to UNESCO's Obiang prize - SciDev.Net

Prominent African intellectuals have stepped up their opposition to a controversial science prize sponsored by Equatorial Guinea's president.

Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Wole Soyinka, Graça Machel of Mozambique and Nigerian author Chinua Achebe joined 123 other Africans, including citizens of Equatorial Guinea, in voicing their objections to the prize in a letter addressed to UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), under whose name the award is to be given.

The UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences is the subject of make-or-break discussions at UNESCO's executive board meeting in Paris this month (October 5−21).