Trevor Noah to receive prestigious Dutch Erasmus Prize honour

Trevor Noah has been awarded the prestigious Dutch Erasmus Prize.

The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation announced in a statement on Thursday that they had awarded the Dutch Erasmus Prize to the former Daily Show host, making him the first comic to win the award since Charlie Chaplin in 1965.

The Dutch Erasmus Prize was named for Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, who lived from 1466 to 1536. Awarded annually with a €150,000 ($160,000/£132,000) cash prize, it rewards "a person or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to the humanities, the social sciences or the arts, in Europe and beyond," according to the organisation.

In their statement, The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation said they had awarded Trevor with the prize "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".

They added, "With his sharp-minded, mocking yet inclusive political comedy, Noah, in the eyes of the jury, upholds the Erasmian Spirit."

Further, they credited Trevor with commenting on Donald Trump's presidency, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement, saying, "With his astute reflections on such issues, he garnered a young, diverse and global audience and, in the process, infused a highly polarized media landscape with a breath of fresh air."

Trevor first rose to prominence as a stand-up comic in South Africa, before hosting Comedy Central's The Daily Show. He concluded his seven-year run on the show in December.

The 39-year-old will be presented with the prize during a ceremony this autumn.