LOOK: Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov receive their 2021 Nobel Peace Prize awards in Oslo, Norway
FIlipino journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov have received their Nobel diplomas and medals for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize of 2021 in Oslo City Hall, Norway on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, held by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, was attended by a physically distanced crowd including the King and Queen of Norway.
Celebrated "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace," Ressa and Muratov gave riveting speeches on press freedom, information dissemination, and the role of truth to power.
"The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on the link between peace and security on the one hand, and a free fact-based press that defends freedom of information and freedom of speech on the other hand," said Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, during the opening award ceremony speech.
She went on to cite Ressa's work as the founder of online investigative news site Rappler and dubbed her as a "fearless defender of freedom of expression."
Meanwhile, Muratov is one of the founders of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and has been its editor-in-chief since 1995.
"Maria Ressa and Dimitry Muratov are participants in a war where the written word is their weapon, where truth is their goal and every exposure of misuse of power is a victory," Reiss-Andersen added.
"We need to stand on their side and support every journalist in every part of the world working for the same goals. By doing so, we are defending freedom of speech and democracy and giving peace a chance."
The ceremony also included artistic performances, a speech by the chair of the Nobel Committee, presentation of the diploma and gold medal to the laureates, and finally the laureates' Nobel Peace Prize lectures.
Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 winner, the World Food Programme, represented by its Executive Director David Beasley, was awarded that night since the ceremony was postponed last year amid the pandemic.
Watch the ceremony below: