The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 by Jakob Von Uexküll to honor and support those “offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today.” Uexküll first approached the Nobel Foundation with the suggestion that it establish two new awards; one for ecology and one relevant to the lives of the poor majority of the world's population. He offered to contribute financially for the two awards but his proposal was turned down by the Nobel foundation. Uexkull believed the Nobel prizes had a narrow scope and only recognized the work of people in industrialized countries. In order to recognize those who were outside of the Nobel Prize Foundation, he created the Right Livelihood Award and provided an initial endowment by selling his collection of postage stamps for $1 million USD. The award since then has become widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” and as the world’s premier recognition for personal courage and social transformation.