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Bono to receive Liberty Medal
25/05/2007 15:49 - (SA)
Philadelphia - Bono, the international rock star who has helped bring worldwide attention to poverty in Africa, will receive this year's Liberty Medal in Philadelphia.
The annual award given by the National Constitution Centre honours an individual or organisation that has "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance, or deprivation."
Bono and the organisation he co-founded - Debt Aids Trade Africa - will receive the medal at a ceremony in September, officials announced on Thursday.
The Irish rocker, who fronts the band U2, co-founded Data in 2002 to work with religious groups on global disease and hunger issues.
In 2005, U2 was a headliner at the Live 8 concerts, which were held to raise awareness about African poverty and pressure world leaders to cancel debt for the poorest African nations.
Honorary degree
The medal will be the second recent honour in Philadelphia for Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson.
He also received an honorary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 and addressed the graduating class.
Last year, former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton won the medal for putting politics aside to help raise more than $1bn for disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia.
Other recent winners include Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2005, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2004.
The medal was first awarded in 1989, and six recipients have subsequently won the Nobel Peace Prize.
- AP
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South Africa
