List of Famous International Awards, World Famous Awards in Literature, Science, Films etc

There are a number of famous international awards which are conferred by various organizations in different categories such as Films and Television, Science and Technology, Literature, Journalism, Peace etc. Highest degree and internationally most popular award in category of Arts, Science, Peace is Nobel Prize while Academy awards are considered as the most important and internationally famous award in category of Films and Movies. The list explains the details of all such awards and their associated categories –

Famous International Awards in Literature

Man Booker Prize

• Established  – 1969
• Presented by – Man Group

This award is generally known as Booker Prize. It is conferred to the authors of original English novels which are published in United Kingdom. This award is presented by Man Group which is an Alternative Investment Management business group founded by James Man in 1783. This award carries great international importance. The award carries a cash prize of £20,000. Originally the citizens of countries belonging to Commonwealth group, Ireland and Zimbabwe were considered eligible to this award but later its eligibility was widened to any English language novel.

International PEN Awards

• Established – 1921
• Presented by – PEN International

PEN International is a NGO (Non-Government Organization)  formed by the group of writers worldwide. It was established in year 1921 in London. PEN originally stands for Poets, Essayists and Novelists but now the definition has changed to any form of literature. It also holds the honour of World’s oldest International Literature Organization. The role of the Pen is to promote and encourage the enrichment of Literature works around the world. There are various awards conferred by PEN International which are – PEN Award for poetry, PEN Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to write Award, PEN Bellwether Prize, PEN Lifetime achievement Award etc.

David Cohen Award

• Established – 1993
• Presented by – John S Cohen Foundation and Arts Council England.

It is one the world famous literature awards which is bestowed to British or Irish citizens. The categories include Best writer, Best novelist, Best poet, Best essayist etc. This award is presented for English literature only. The first recipient of this award in year 1993 was V S Naipaul.

Famous International Awards in Journalism, Government and Public Service 

Pulitzer Awards

• Established – 1917
• Presented by – Columbia University

This award was named after US Publisher Joseph Pulitzer ( 1847 to 1911). It is conferred annually in United States for accomplishments in Journalism, literature and music. It is managed by Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University. The award comes with a cash of US $ 10,000 and a certificate. The Public services category winner in addition also receives Gold Medal. There are total 21 categories under which this award is conferred. Some of these categories are – Public Services, Breaking News Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Beat Reporting, International Reporting, Feature Writing, Commentary, Criticism, Editorial Writing etc.

Ramon Magsaysay Award

• Established – 1957
• Presented by – Philippines

This famous international award was instituted in 1957 and named after president of Philippines Ramon Magsaysay. Ramon Magsaysay died in air crash in 1957. He became world’s renowned figure in decades of 50s for his land reforms programme to diffuse communist insurgency. This award is given annually on 31 Aug which is also the birth anniversary of Magsaysay. This award is conferred for outstanding contribution in Public Service, Community leadership, Journalism, Literature, International Understanding and Creative Arts. It is equivalent to Nobel Prize in Asia. It may be conferred to not only the individuals but also to the organizations inside or outside Asia who have worked for the betterment and good cause of Asia.

List of Indian Winners of Ramon Magsaysay Award

Famous International Award in Films, Movies & Music Category

Academy Awards (Oscar Awards)

• Established – 1929
• Presented by – Academy of motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences

The Academy awards are also known as Oscar awards. This holds the reputation of most prestigious awards in world cinema. The first person to win this award was Emil Jannings who won this in Best Actor category. The award ceremony is hosted in US. This award is conferred in 24 different categories. The main important categories include – Best Picture, Best Director, Best lead actor, Best actor (supporting), Best lead actress, Best actress (supporting), Best animated film, Best cinematography, Best costume, Best foreign language film, Best original score, Best original song, Best editing, Best writing etc. The trophy consists of gold plated britania metal representing a knight mounted on black metallic foundation.

Golden Globe Awards

• Established – 1943
• Presented by – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

This famous international award is bestowed for outstanding performances in Films and Television. On the similar lines of Oscars it is also hosted by United States and considered one of the most prestigious awards. There are 15 different categories in films and 11 different categories in Televisions. The important categories in films are – Best Motion Picture, Best director, Best actor, Best Actress, Best screenplay, Best original score, Best original song, Best foreign language film etc. The important categories in Televisions are – Best drama series, Best comedy series, Best actor in drama series, Best actor in comedy series, Best actress in drama series, Best actress in comedy series etc.  Meryl Strip has won 8 Golden Globe awards in acting category and is considered the record holder of maximum individual wins.

Golden Lion Award (Venice Films Festival)

• Established – 1949
• Presented by – Venice Film Festival

Golden Lion is one of the most prestigious international awards conferred at Venice Film Festival. This prize was started in year 1949 and is considered the most important awards in Films, movies and entertainment industry throughout the world. This award is hosted by Italy and except the two times (1969 and 1979) this awards has been conferred regularly each year. Satyajit Ray was the first Indian to win this international prestigious award for his Bengali film Aparajito. Mira Nair was the second Indian to win this famous award for her film Monsoon Wedding. She is also only one of the four women directors who have won this award so far.

Golden Palm Award : Cannes Film Festival

• Established – 1939
• Presented by – Festival International du Film de Cannes

This award ceremony is the top most film award ceremony of Europe and considered as one of the best in international arena. Golden Palm award (Palm dÓr) is the best and most prestigious among all awards conferred at Cannes Film Festival. The important categories/awards at Cannes film festival are – Golden Palm, Grand Prize of Festival (Grand Prix), Jury Prize, Best short film, Best actor, Best actress, Best director, Best screenplay.  The first Indian to win this award was Chetan Anand who directed the film Lowly City. He got this award in year 1946.

Golden Bear Award

• Established – 1951
• Presented by – Berlin Film Festival

Golden Bear is the the most prestigious awards conferred at Berlin Film Festival, Germany. The only Indian Film to win this award in 1973 was Distant Thunder (Bengali Title – Ashoni Sonket) directed by Satyajit Ray.

Grammy Awards

• Established – 1959
• Presented by – National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

It is yet another internationally famous award which is being hosted from year 1959 by United States. This award is also called as Gramophone Awards. This award is given in Music field. There are many categories out which main 4 categories are – Album of year, Record of year, Song of the year, Best new artist. Georg Solti is the person with maximum Grammy wins (total 38 wins).

Famous International Awards in Science

Nobel Prize

• Established – 1901
• Presented by – Sweden and Norway (Swedish Academy, Norwegian Nobel Committee)

This award is the most prestigious and reputed in the related field of Science, Medicines, Economics and Peace. This award was started and first conferred in year 1901. It is named after Swedish Engineer and scientist Alfred Nobel who was chemical engineer by profession. The will of this scientist Alfred Nobel was used as the money for presenting prize initially. Nobel Foundation which was a private organisation used to manage the finances related to this award as per the will of Alfred Nobel. The Prize is presented and award ceremony hosting being done by Norway and Sweden combined. Norway presents only the Peace Prize while remaining other awards of different categories are presented by Sweden. This is awarded annually on Dec 10 for outstanding works in fields of i) Physics, ii) Chemistry, iii) Physiology and Medicine, iv) Literature, v) Peace and vi) Economics.

• Wilhelm Rontgen was the first person to receive this award in Physics category for the discovery of X-Rays in year 1901.

List of Indians winners of Nobel Prize

Kalinga Award

• Established – 1952
• Presented by – UNESCO, Government of India

This famous award was founded in year 1952 by initiative of Biju Patnaik who was also the founder of Kalinga Foundation Trust in Odisha. The award was initially started by donation from Biju Patnaik towards this trust. This award is presented by UNESCO for popularisation and propagation of Science. The awardee should have worked for betterment of life of common people by the use of Science and Technology. The award carries a cash prize of 20,000 US Dollars along with Albert Einstein silver medal. In the odd years, this award is presented by UNESCO during World Science Day celebrations while in even years government of India bestows this award. Louis de Broglie of France was the first winner of this award in year 1952.

Some other important World Science Awards 

Award	Details
The Copley Medal	Awarded by Royal society, London for outstanding contributions in field of Science.
Kyoto Prize	Japan's highest global award given in fields of Advanced Technology (Electronics, Biotechnology, Material Science, Information Science), Basic Sciences, Arts, Philosophy
Dan David Prize	Anually presented by Dan David Foundation, Israel for outstanding contribution in field of Science, Technology and Social welfare.
Albert Einstein World Award of Science	This award is given by "World Cultural Council", Mexico for scientific & technological research and development.
Wolf Prize	Awarded by Wolf Foundation, Israel for outstanding achievements in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts.
Kavli Prize	Presented by Kavli Foundation and Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Norway for outstanding research work in Astrophysics, Nanoscience and Neuroscience.
Japan Prize	Awarded by Japan Prize Foundation, Japan for originala and outstanding achievements in Science and Technolgy.
Franklin Institute Awards	Awarded by Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, U.S. In areas of Chemistry, Computer and Cognitive Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Life Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics.

Famous international Awards for Peace, Humanity, Social Welfare

UN Human Rights Awards

• Established – 1966
• Presented by – UN

This famous award is given every 5 years for individual contribution to the establishment of human rights. This award was first presented in 1968. This award is given on World Human Rights Day i.e. on 10th Dec.  In 2013 this award was conferred to Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan who was shot by Talibani militant in her pursuit of attending school. This award is conferred to both individuals and organizations for working in the field of Human Rights. The only Indian so far to win this prestigious award is Baba Amte in year 1988. Some other eminent international personalities who won this award include – Martin Luther King (1978), Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela (1988), Ganesh Man singh of Nepal (1993), Jimmy Carter (1998) and Benazir Bhutto (2008).

Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize

• Established – 1995
• Presented by – Government of India

This award was instituted by Government of India in year 1995 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This award carries 10 Million Indian Rupees (Rs 1 Crore) which is the biggest sum among all popular international awards. This award is conferred to either an individual or an organization who has given important contribution in propagating the ideas of Gandhi ji including peace, non-violence, social harmony, welfare of citizens and other works related to betterment of humanity. The first awardee in year 1995 was Julius Nyrere who was a politician from Tanzania. The recent-most awardee (year 2014) is ISRO. Baba Amte, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu are the other eminent awardees of this prize. Ramkrishna Mission, Grameen Bank and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan are some of the important organizations who won this coveted prize.