The event, organised by the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum, recognises remarkable individuals in various categories who have made outstanding contributions to the field of peace.
Since its establishment in 2012, the Luxembourg Peace Prize has served as a platform to celebrate and amplify the aims of the World Peace Forum. The event showcases diverse peacemakers, including activists, educators, leaders, and artists, representing different regions of the world.
This year’s event was hosted by Vicki Hansen, president of the Schengen Peace Foundation, together with co-presenter, Jim Kent.
Dr. Mariia Levchenko won the award for Outstanding Peace Activist in the female category for her work building peace in Ukraine. Alexander Anyfandakis
The award for Outstanding Peace Activist in the female category was given to Dr. Mariia Levchenko, a peacebuilding officer at the Romanian Peace Institute in Ukraine. Levchenko received the award for inspiring work educating youth, refugees, and women on topics such as dialogue and peacebuilding, emotional well-being and trauma management, and countering propaganda.
In a significant recognition of peace efforts between Israel and Palestine, this year’s Outstanding Peace Activist Male award was jointly awarded to Ali Abu Awwad and Gershon Baskin. Abu Awwad founded the non-violent movement Taghyeer, which fosters peace and reconciliation between the two nations. Baskin, as the director of the investment fund Holy Land Bond, has played a pivotal role in developing shared housing projects and cross-community technology businesses involving Jewish and Palestinian Israelis.
Ali Abu Awwad and Gershon Baskin jointly receive the award for Outstanding Peace Activist in the male category. Alexander Anyfandakis
Daniel Quintero Calle, mayor of Medellin in Colombia, received the award for Outstanding Public Peace Efforts for creating the first secretariat for non-violence in Colombia. Carolyn Arguillas, who served as editor-in-chief of MindaNews--a news agency based in Mindanao, Philippines--received the award for Outstanding Peace Journalism for her contributions to constructive and inclusive media coverage.
The WellBeing Planet, a non-profit foundation whose mission is to contribute to the global well-being of the planet using emotional and social neuroscience received the award for Outstanding Inner Peace. The award for Outstanding Environmental Peace went to The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament in Sweden.
The Schengen Peace Foundation was founded in 2007 as a non-profit charity dedicated to promoting peace, tolerance, and understanding through multicultural dialogue. Their initiatives encompass discussions, publications, exhibits, workshops, internet platforms, encounters, exchange programs, education programs, and peace-related studies.