CADAL nominated Dagoberto Valdés for the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2013

The Puente Democrático Program of CADAL nominated social leader and human rights activist Dagoberto Valdés for Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2013 that each year is presented by the May 18 Memorial Foundation in South Korea.This nomination had the support and references of former president and democratic union leader of Poland, Lech Walesa.

El Programa Puente Democrático de CADAL nominó al dirigente social y activista de los derechos humanos Dagoberto Valdés para el Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2013 que cada año entrega la May 18 Memorial Foundation de Corea del Sur. Esta nominación contó con el apoyo y las referencias del ex presidente y líder sindical democrático de Polonia, Lech Walesa.

The Puente Democrático Program of CADAL nominated social leader and human rights activist Dagoberto Valdés for Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2013 that each year is presented by the May 18 Memorial Foundation in South Korea.This nomination had the support and references of former president and democratic union leader of Poland, Lech Walesa.

Dagoberto Valdes, Director of Grupo Convivencia (www.convivenciacuba.es) of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, was considered by Walesa as "one of the most important examples of human rights activism and civic engagement in Cuba. Despite the many attempts by the government to prevent their activity, Dagoberto Valdes never left his job and with his collaborators continued its mission to 'rebuild and strengthen society'. The co-founder of Solidarity, the union opposition movement to the Polish communist regime, added that the space created by Dagoberto Valdes, Convivencia, "meets regularly for open discussions, educational courses and seminars on human rights, international law, civil rights, independence, self-help and democracy. He teaches that work in a supportive and peaceful existence can generate results”.

Since 2000, the May 18 Memorial Foundation has given annually the Gwangju Prize for human rights  that seeks to promote the spirit of the Movement of the May 18 Democratization when the people of Gwangju, South Korea, resisted the brutal military forces to safeguard democracy and human rights in 1980. It was this movement which ultimately gave South Korea its current democracy. The May 18 Memorial Foundation was established in 1994 with the aim of disseminating and commemorate the democratic spirit of the people of Gwangju.

In their latest editions, the award was given to Munir Malik (Human Rights Lawyer, Pakistan), Min Ko Naing (Democratic Movement Activist, Burma), Sushil Pyakurel (Accountability Watch Committee, Nepal), Binayak Sen (human rights activist, India) and Hyun Jeong Mun (Catholic priest, Republic of Korea).