15 December 2016, Royal Palace Amsterdam: HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Honorary Chair of the Prince Claus Fund, presented six Prince Claus Awards for extraordinary achievements in the field of culture and development. Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima as well as Their Royal Highnesses Princess Beatrix, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands and Princess Mabel van Oranje-Nassau were present at the ceremony. Likewise Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, HE Ms Lilianne Ploumen, who held an allocution deputising for Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.
The Prince Claus Fund honours individuals, or organisations whose cultural actions have a positive impact. For the fund, culture is a basic human need that ought to be encouraged, and protected worldwide. 2016 was particularly special because the fund celebrated 20 years since it was born out of the vision of the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands with the monetary backing of the Dutch Foreign Ministry.
The principal Prince Claus Award went to Thai filmmaker and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Five additional awards were bestowed upon: Kamal Mouzawak (Lebanon), PeaceNiche | The Second Floor (T2F) (Pakistan), Bahia Shehab (Egypt/Lebanon), La Silla Vacía (Colombia) and Vo Trong Nghia Architects (Viêt Nam).
The annual Prince Claus Awards honour outstanding achievements in culture and development, particularly in areas where resources or opportunities for cultural expression, creative production and preservation of cultural heritage are limited. All 2016 Prince Claus Laureates will be additionally honoured in their home countries in the upcoming months.
For further information:
http://princeclausfund.org/en/activities/2016-prince-claus-awards-presented-in-amsterdam.html
https://frankvanbeek.smugmug.com/Other/2016-Prince-Claus-Awards/n-m3KCKn/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/princeclausfund/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1386763574668587
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Picture of the laureates with the Dutch royals at the Royal Palace Amsterdam by Frank van Beek.
