For its 16th edition, the 2021 Environment Book Prize from the Veolia Foundation has been awarded to Thierry Libaert for “Des vents porteurs. Comment mobiliser (enfin) pour la planète”; and the youth commendation went to Olivier Dain-Belmont and Fachri Maulana for “Permacité ! La ville de mes rêves”. The president of the jury, Dominique Bourg, professor emeritus at the University of Lausanne, presented the prize this Saturday, 11 September at the re-entry literary fair in Nancy, “Le livre sur la place”.
• Winner of the 2021 Prize:
“Des vents porteurs. Comment mobiliser (enfin) pour la planète” by Thierry Libaert. Éditions Le Pommier - September 2020, 216 pages.
In his book, Thierry Libaert, an environmental communication specialist, shares his analysis with us: swept up by a tidal wave of good intentions, it is as if we have all become green, with the younger generation leading the way. However, judging by our behaviour, nothing is less certain. Our consumption habits, including those of young people, remain firmly linked to a vision of growth, material success and purchasable happiness. Under these conditions, how can people be mobilised to rise to the biggest challenge of the century?
Thierry Libaert explains:
We have chosen the wrong fight: any ecological discourse “against” misses its target. To get out of inertia, we need to rethink all the awareness-raising discourse, link climate and ecological issues to our everyday lives, put forward a new story, change our mental pictures and reinspire our imagination. This book offers many ways to (finally!) find favourable winds.
Thierry Libaert is an advisor on the European Economic and Social Committee, vice-president of the think tank The Ecological Factory, a member of the scientific advisory board of the Nicolas-Hulot Foundation, and a director of the Desirable Futures Institute.
• Youth commendation winner 2021
“Permacité ! La ville de mes rêves" by Olivier Dain-Belmont and Fachri Maulana. Éditions Sarbacane - February 2021, 48 pages.
This children's book tells in vivid images, mixing architectural drawing and children's illustration, how Camille and her family move into a "permacity", an economically and ecologically viable district! Camille discovers this city of the future, which has many surprises in store for her. An extraordinary utopia to be devoured like an adventure, which brings together ideas already implemented around the world. Something to give everyone real hope.
Olivier Dain-Belmont is an architect. He is particularly interested in urban utopias and ethical and ecological architecture.
Fachri Maulana first trained in architecture and then multimedia design.
We believe in the power of the book, in its ability to challenge our conscience, in its informative role. We believe that publishers thus help to raise awareness of environmental issues and the need to protect our resources. A common thread has emerged this year for the entire 2021 selection, that of sensitivity to or, more precisely, the change in our sensibilities towards nature. Indeed, today the ecological issues have never been so tangible, everywhere on the planet. They call to question our very relationship to the environment, on which our survival depends, to allow greater mobilization of the whole of society,
added Thierry Vandevelde, Executive Officer of the Veolia Foundation.
France’s first national literary award linked to major environmental issues, the Veolia Foundation's Environmental Book Prize was created in 2006 to encourage and promote writers and publishing houses who help to raise public awareness of the major issues facing the planet.
The jury has been chaired for several years by Dominique Bourg, philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Lausanne. It brings together writers, specialists and notable figures committed to the environment, as well as representatives of the Foundation and the Veolia Group.
> Find the books shortlisted in 2021 at foundation.veolia.com
Find out more:
> Acting and committing to ecological transformation
> The Veolia Foundation Environment Book Prize. Books to build awareness of the challenges facing the planet
> Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Veolia
> Read on Thierry Libaert's website (in French only): interview about his book "Des Vents Porteurs: Comment Mobiliser (Enfin) Pour La Planète"
> “Le livre sur la place" in Nancy (from 10 to 12 September 2021) is the first national fair of the literary autumn in France