In 2007, the Presidency of the Jury selected the theme of Men and Women Hand in Hand for Gender Equality. This theme was in line with the European Year for Equal Opportunities for All.

The ex aequo winners of the 2007 Edition were: Mrs. Rodi Kratsa Tsagaropoulou, First Vice President of the European Parliament, and Vice President of Ad-Hoc Committee for Women’s Rights in the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly and Mr. Jan Willems, Artistic Director and Programme Designer of Theatre Days Production.

From 1999 – 2004, Rodi Kratsa was a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Women's Parliamentary. Since 2000 Mrs. Kratsa has created a permanent contact and cooperation with many political and civil actors in Mediterranean countries and especially with the Women's Committee of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in order to promote a platform of dialogue and common action. In March 2004, she was honoured the “Chevalier de l’ Ordre national de la Légion d’ Honneur” by the President of the French Republic.

Working in poor and under-served regions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Jan Willems has trained actors and drama-teachers using a 3-year curriculum he designed. This included the sensitive matter of how to bring women into the professional world of theatre and art in these regions.

The Awarding Ceremony for the winners was held in the framework of the Sixth Heads of Network Meeting on 26 November 2007 in Cairo. The ceremony was presented by the Super Star, Mr. Samir Sabry at the Hambra Hall, Intercontinental City Stars Hotel with the honourable participation of a large number of diplomats, prominent intellectual political figures, heads of the 37 Euro-Med National Networks, members of the Egyptian National Network in addition to outstanding figures from international organizations working in the field of gender.

Mr. Willems was bestowed the trophy by Dr. Zeinab Radwan, Deputy President of the Egyptian Parliament. And, Mrs. Kratsa was bestowed the trophy by Dr. Botros Botros Ghali, Former Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director of the National Council of Human Rights in Egypt.

Mr. Jan Willems participated in the Debate on Art and Dialogue on 7 May 2008, organized by the Head of the Network in Poland: International Cultural Centre in Krakow (Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury).

THE FOUR RUNNERS-UP

An honourable mention was given to the three other finalists:

Mrs. Wassyla Tamzali: a renown writer and activist for women rights (Algeria)

Professor Hanna Herzog: Researcher on gender, religion and politics and Professor of Sociology at Tel Aviv University (Israel)

Mrs. Mahassen El Emam: General Manager and Founder of the Arab Women Media R&S Center (Jordan)

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 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 16 October 2006, where he was engaged in an open debate with the youth participants of the Dialogue 21 Workshop (Alexandria 2006). Moreover, Father Paolo took part in the Debate on Art and Dialogue (7 May 2008) organized by the International Cultural Centre in Krakow (Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury), Head of the Network in Poland.

THE FOUR RUNNERS-UP

Honorary mentions were given to the following finalists who have developed models of good practice in promoting dialogue between cultures:

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.

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.

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.