Four Freedoms Award Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Four Freedoms Award
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, painted by Francis Owen Salisbury, 1947
Country	United States

The Four Freedoms Award is a special prize given each year. It honors people who have shown a strong dedication to ideas that US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt talked about. He shared these ideas in a famous speech on January 6, 1941. He said these four freedoms are super important for any democracy: "freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear."

The award is given out in two places. In some years, it's given in New York City to Americans by the Roosevelt Institute. In other years, it's given in Middelburg, Netherlands, to people from other countries by the Roosevelt Stichting.

History of the Awards
Honoring People: The Laureates
Images for kids
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History of the Awards

The Four Freedoms Awards started in 1982. This was a special year because it was 100 years since President Roosevelt was born. It was also 200 years since the United States and the Netherlands first became diplomatic friends.

The awards were created to celebrate the four important freedoms President Roosevelt spoke about:

Each of these four freedoms has its own award. There is also a special "Freedom Medal" given to a very important person. Sometimes, extra special awards are given out too.

The awards are given in different places depending on the year. In odd-numbered years (like 2023 or 2025), the awards go to American citizens or groups. These ceremonies are held in New York City. In even-numbered years (like 2024 or 2026), the awards honor people from outside America. These ceremonies take place in Middelburg, Netherlands. Middelburg was chosen because President Roosevelt's family might have come from a nearby Dutch town called Oud-Vossemeer.

Honoring People: The Laureates

Many amazing people and groups have received these awards. They are called "laureates." Each award celebrates one of the four freedoms.

Freedom Medal Recipients

One of the medals given out

The Freedom Medal is a very special award. It honors people who have made a huge difference in promoting all four freedoms.

Year	Middelburg (Non-Americans)	Year	Hyde Park / New York (Americans)
1982	Princess Juliana of the Netherlands	1983	W. Averell Harriman
1984	Harold Macmillan	1985	Claude Pepper
1986	Alessandro Pertini	1987	Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Many other important leaders and thinkers have received this medal over the years, including Nelson Mandela (2002), Bill Clinton (2005), Angela Merkel (2016), and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2015).

Freedom of Speech Award

Dutch politician Max van der Stoel receives the Freedom of Speech award, 16 October 1982

This award celebrates the right to speak freely and share ideas. President Roosevelt said: "The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world."

Year	Middelburg (Non-Americans)	Year	Hyde Park / New York (Americans)
1982	Max van der Stoel	1983	Joseph L. Rauh, Jr.
1984	Amnesty International	1985	Kenneth B. Clark
1986	El País	1987	Herbert Block

Other notable winners include Walter Cronkite (1989), CNN (1998), and Maria Ressa (2020).

Freedom of Worship Award

Freedom of Worship, a painting by Norman Rockwell from 1943

This award honors the right for everyone to practice their religion as they choose. President Roosevelt stated: "The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world."

Year	Middelburg (Non-Americans)	Year	Hyde Park / New York (Americans)
1982	Willem A. Visser 't Hooft	1983	Coretta Scott King
1984	Werner Leich and Christiann F. Beyers Naudé	1985	Elie Wiesel
1986	Bernardus Alfrink	1987	Leon Sullivan

Famous recipients include Desmond Tutu (1998) and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (2012).

Freedom from Want Award

Freedom from Want by painter Norman Rockwell from 1943

This award recognizes efforts to ensure everyone has enough to live a healthy life. President Roosevelt explained: "The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world."

Year	Middelburg (Non-Americans)	Year	Hyde Park / New York (Americans)
1982	H. Johannes Witteveen	1983	Robert S. McNamara
1984	Liv Ullmann	1985	John Kenneth Galbraith
1986	F. Bradford Morse	1987	Mary Lasker

Other important winners include Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (1991), Médecins Sans Frontières (1996), and Muhammad Yunus (2006) for his work with Grameen Bank.

Freedom from Fear Award

Freedom from Fear by Norman Rockwell from 1943

This award is for those who work to make the world a safer place, free from violence and war. President Roosevelt said: "The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world."