On the picture Co-president Kyriakos Pachoulides of Award winner AHDR, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koeders, Co-president Alev Tugberk of Award winner AHDR.
The Hague – The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR), a Cyprus-based non-governmental organisation, has been awarded the Max van der Stoel Award 2016 for its work on history teaching as a tool for reconciliation in Cyprus. The association was presented the award by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders during a ceremony in the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace in The Hague on October 24th.
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The Max van der Stoel Award is given every two years to an individual or organization in recognition of extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of communities in the OSCE area. It consists of a donation of 50,000 euros by the Government of the Netherlands to the winner. The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities chairs the jury that chooses the winner. As Director and Officer-in-Charge of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Henrik Villadsen said: “The Max van der Stoel Award enables us to give credit where credit is due by promoting the hard work of courageous and dedicated individuals and organizations which spearhead and practise dialogue among communities and help to build a common future”.
Speaking out in support of AHDR as the 2016 winner of the award, Chairperson of the jury and former High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors stated: “From the outset, AHDR has demonstrated its sustained commitment to building a multicultural and multi-faith society, promoting mutual respect and diversity, and including all of the communities of Cyprus.”
Explaining the added value of the winner, she said: “AHDR provides access to learning opportunities for individuals from different ethnic, religious, cultural and social backgrounds including teacher training sessions, cultural excursions, seminars and conferences. It developed a range of supplementary teaching materials in order to help inter alia to address the legacies of a violent past.”
Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, H.E. Mr Elpidoforos Economou congratulated AHDR and stated: “The Ministry of Education and Culture remains committed to an educational system that promotes peaceful co-existence, tolerance and understanding amongst the people of Cyprus and cooperates with the Association.”
Before presenting the Award to AHDR, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders emphasised the importance of the work of the organisation: “The success of the AHDR demonstrates the power that communities themselves have to shape their relations. It serves as a shining example to other countries where relations between communities are strained.”
ADHR Co-presidents Kyriakos Pachoulides, a Greek Cypriot, and Alev Tuğberk, a Turkish Cypriot, jointly accepted the Award and spoke alternately, saying that “this award is shared with all those in Cyprus, whose work promoted, over the last decades, inter-communal co-operation, mutual respect and understanding as the foundations for a sustainable, peaceful re-united Cyprus.”
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Photography by OSCE/Arnaud Roelofsz
