News of Norway, April 28, 2003
"I am deeply moved by this honor," Ms. Johnson said upon receiving the award at a repection in the capital.
The Center for Global Development and the journal Foreign Policy have chosen the Utstein group to be the first recipients of an award that is to be given every year to "an individual, group of individuals or organization that has made a significant contribution to changing the attitudes and policies of the rich world towards the poor."
The Utstein group received the award because of its "dedication, vision and leadership in reducing global poverty and inequality, challenging the norms of the development "establishment", and highlighting the importance of policy coherence made it the best choice."
"We've been called the Gang of Four and the Dragon Ladies. I take that as a compliment," Ms. Johnson said, adding that although much has been acheived by the four women, there is still much to do.
"The most important thing we need to focus on now is perhaps inequalities in trade systems," she said, adding: "The solution is not necessarily more aid, but a solution so that poor countries can be given the means to handle themselves."
The award was given to the four original members of the group: the former Dutch Minister for Development Co-operation, Ms Eveline Herfkens, the British Minister for International Development, Ms Clare Short, the German Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development, Ms Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, and our own minister Ms Hilde F. Johnson. The Utstein group was formed in 1999, during a meeting at Utstein Abbey on the west coast of Norway.