Political activists win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates. There’s the bonus question and the “Listeners Corner” with Michael Fitzpatrick, “Music from Erwan”, and the new quiz question, too, so click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Sound Kitchen Podcast RFI

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner's names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [e-mail]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

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Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that’s how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

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This week’s quiz: On 8 October, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Jan van der Made’s article “Macron hails Nobel prize for 'unswerving defenders of human rights in Europe'”. You were to send in the names of the Peace Prize laureates and why they won. 

The answer is: There were three winners: Ales Bialiatski, the International Memorial in Russia, and the Centre for Civil Liberties in Ukraine.

 Ales Bialiatski is a political activist in Belarus known for his work with the Viasna Human Rights Center. Bialiatski is currently in prison in Belarus.

The Russian International Memorial tracks human rights violations across the Russian Federation. It was officially closed down by the Russian high court just four days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties is attempting to document the human toll resulting from the conflict with Russia. 

As the Nobel committee wrote: “The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What do you remember about your first kiss?”

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad Pakistan, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Also on the list of lucky winners this week is Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India; Sharifun Islam Nitu, who’s a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; RFI Listeners Club member Solomon Fessahazion from Asmara, Eritrea, and RFI English listener Tutul Khan from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Soothing Relaxation” by Peder B. Helland; “The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished” by Mykhailo Verbytsky, performed by Igor Presnyakov; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Fly Me to the Moon” by Bart Howard, performed by the Diana Krall Quartet;  “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Roll With It” by Joey DeFrancesco, performed by the DeFrancesco Trio.  

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [e-mail] 

This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Lula takes back the top job in Brazil, defeating Bolsonaro” to help you with the answer.

You have until 5 December to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 10 December podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

[e-mail]

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

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