The Nobel Prize–winning economist and philosopher Amartya Sen received this year’s Ford Family Notre Dame Award for International Development and Solidarity at a campus ceremony on April 17. A visionary and spirited advocate for the world’s poorest people, Sen has worked for 50 years to illuminate the true causes of poverty and suffering. He has transformed how development is defined and measured by focusing attention on positive freedoms and human capabilities rather than income alone.
Presented by the Kellogg Institute’s Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity, the Notre Dame Award recognizes substantial contributions to international human development through research, practice, public service, or philanthropy. Recipients are honored for standing in solidarity with those in deepest need, supporting them to become agents of their own change.