First Edition 2006

In 2006, the Presidency of the Jury selected the theme of Mutual Respect among People of Different Religions or Any Other Belief. This theme was in line with the Barcelona Declaration’s call for ensuring "respect for diversity and pluralism in our societies" and "greater understanding among the major religions present in the Euro-Mediterranean Region", in order to facilitate greater mutual tolerance and cooperation.

The Winner of the First Edition was the: Mar Musa Al Habashi Monastery in Syria for its proactive role in the field of inter-religious dialogue through an approach of mediation and mutual respect. In addition to its focus on spiritual life and evangelical simplicity, one of the priorities of the Community is ‘hospitality’, a sacred activity that has always been considered divine in the region. Through the simplicity of hospitality, the Community is able to meet many Christians and Muslims from the region, ‘creating a society in which the majority and all the minorities are able to interact with each other’.

On behalf of Deir Mar Musa, Father Paolo Dall’Oglio was bestowed the trophy during the Awarding Ceremony held in the framework of the fourth Heads of Network Meeting in Tampere. Moreover, he participated in the ALF ad-hoc group “major misconceptions in intercultural and inter-religious dialogue” in cooperation with the Arab League (Cairo 2006); and the Dialogue Night held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on October 16th, 2006, where he was engaged in an open debate with the youth participants of the Dialogue 21 Workshop (Alexandria 2006). Recently, Father Paolo was invited by the International Cultural Centre in Krakow (Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury), Head of the Network in Poland to participate in the Debate on Art and Dialogue on 7 May 2008.

The Four Runners-up

Honorary mentions have been awarded to four other candidates who have developed models of good practice in promoting dialogue between cultures; they are:

Crossing Borders: a Danish NGO providing space and skills for youth and educators to increase international understanding, and with a strong commitment to bring young Palestinian and Israeli citizens together for exchange, cooperation and to develop their visions of living together.

Assia Djebar: an Algerian writer who explores the struggle for social emancipation of women in the Muslim woman's world in all its complexities. She received the Peace Prize of Frankfurt International Book Fair in 2000 in recognition of her commitment for democratic renewal and peace in Algeria and for understanding between cultures. She was freedom fighter during the French colonization.

Daniel Barenboim: Israeli pianist and music director, who promotes understanding and cooperation between Jews and Arabs through music. Together with the Palestinian intellectual, late Edward Said, he developed visions of living together and mutual enrichment of Israelis and Arabs in the Middle East and established the West-Eastern Divan orchestra with musicians from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. In August 2005, the performance of the orchestra in Ramallah was broadcasted worldwide.

The Royal Institute for Inter-Faiths Studies: was established in Amman in 1994 to contribute to understanding and respect among world religions. It has gained international reputation as convenor of major conferences on intercultural dialogue such as the World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies in June 2006 and hosts a range of scholars and lecturers from all over the world