The Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, Andreu Claret, has been awarded last week by the Association of European Journalists of Catalonia for his work in favor of the European values as a journalist.

A. Claret, who spend a long career as journalist, received the award from the former mayor of Barcelona and President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, during a ceremony hold in the Delegation of the European Commission, in Barcelona.

The professional background of Andreu Claret was underlined by several personalities on a booklet distributed during the awarding ceremony, among them the Commissioner of External Relations and Neighborhood Policy of the European Union, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who stressed “ his commitment with the euro-Mediterranean relations from the very beginning, first as a journalist , then as Director of the IEMed, and now as Executive Director of the sole institution created till now in the framework of the Euromed Partnership”.

Due to his long experience on issues related to the Mediterranean and his engagement to promote mutual understanding between people living within the region, Andreu Claret was appointed in July 2008 to the post of the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, one of the main institutions of the Union for the Mediterranean. With its headquarters in the Egyptian city Alexandria, the Foundation aims to bring people together in order to promote dialogue between cultures and respect for diversity.