Nurse Mária Sándor is the first to receive the award founded by Népszabadság to recognize a personality for his or her exceptional contribution to society, economy or culture in the given year.
Respekt strives to put achievements in the limelight that cannot be categorized, the results of which may not be necessarily measured directly, beyond which often only the struggle is visible, but it still affects a lot of people, and can set an example to others.
The Respekt Prize, a small sculpture made by porcelain designer Erika Sütő, is handed over by the current editor-in-chief of Népszabadság in December at the end of every year. The prize is given by the members of the advisory board invited by the newspaper; they chose the three final candidates out of eighteen nominees this year.
In addition to András Murányi, editor-in-chief of Népszabadság, the membership of the advisory board included poet Krisztina Tóth, television personality Tamás Vitray, international chess grand master Gábor Kállai, and actor/director and Kossuth and Jászai Prize-winner Gábor Máté.
Of eighteen nominees, the members selected three final candidates. Romani painter Rozi Csámpai has been gathering the wandering and hungry Romani children around herself as a step-mother for many years. Péter Horgas, the founder of the National Minimum campaign, awakened the country to the fact that there are more than forty thousand children in Hungary who are hungry, and more than one hundred thousand young people do not get quality food. Mária Sándor, a nurse fighting for her colleague’s rights, risked her own livelihood and career to start a movement to remedy the adverse conditions in health care.
Based on the decision of the advisory board, the Respekt Prize was awarded to Mária Sándor in 2015 for her unwavering work, putting her own safety to risk, fighting not only against the unfair circumstances of the health care workers, but also to ensure that patients get a hospital treatment befitting a human being. In her sometimes dramatic speech of thanks, Mária Sándor dedicated her prize to those of her colleagues who agreed to join her in her struggle. The prize was handed over at a ceremony held in the building of Mediaworks, the publisher of Népszabadság, that was attended by the nominees’ family members, friends and colleagues.
Nurse Mária Sándor is the first to receive the award founded by Népszabadság.