Folkeopplysningsprisen

According to the statutes, the prize is awarded to "individuals, groups, organizations or institutions for efforts beyond the ordinary, over time, to create conditions and incentives for emancipation, cooperation, growth and development through knowledge.

[1] The Scandinavian term folkeopplysning (Danish/Norwegian) consists of folk ("people") and opplysning ("enlightenment").

The learning ideal is rooted in the thoughts of the Age of Enlightenment and Rousseau's concept of popular sovereignty.

It is often traced back to N. F. S. Grundtvig's folk high school movement in Denmark in the 1840s and the use of study circles in Swedish labour- and temperance movements in the very beginning of the 20th century (1902).

[2] The connection to democratic ideas is considered important in folkeopplysning, with enlightenment taken as a foundation for democracy.