Cape Town - South Africa’s very own national treasure, comedian, author, political commentator and former TV host Trevor Noah has become the first South African to be awarded the prestigious 2023 Erasmus Prize.
The Dutch prize awarded by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, of which King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is patron, is awarded annually to an individual or organisation who has made significant efforts and contributions in the humanities, social sciences and the arts.
The foundation said Noah, 39, the youngest award recipient in its 65-year history, had been chosen for his “inspired contribution to the theme ‘In Praise of Folly’, named after Erasmus’s most famous book, which is filled with humour, social criticism and political satire.
“With his sharp-minded, mocking yet inclusive political comedy, Noah, in the eyes of the jury, upholds the ‘Erasmian Spirit’,” the foundation said.
Noah is also the second humorist to be awarded the prize, the first being Charlie Chaplin in 1965.
The Praemium Erasmianum was founded in1958 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.
The foundation awards the annual Erasmus Prize and organises cultural and academic activities around the award ceremony. The Erasmus Prize consists of a prize of €150 000 (nearly R3 million).
Erasmus Prize Foundation director, Dr Shanti van Dam, said the criteria were excellence in the field and the award is a lifetime achievement award.
Van Dam said there was a different theme annually, chosen by the board and informed by what theme in the humanities and arts is considered important at that moment.
Noah is also the second African to receive the prize by the institution.
Moroccan author and sociologist, laureate Fatema Mernissi was awarded the prize in 2004 for “Religion and Modernity”.