The first edition of the CESPIC Peace Award, sponsored by the Our Lady of Good Counsel Foundation (NSBC) in Tirana, is coordinated by the European Centre for Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC), in collaboration with Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa/ Centre for International Cooperation.

The prize is awarded annually to one or more individuals or organizations committed to promoting peace, reconciliation, and cooperation with a particular focus on the Balkan region.

The awards will be presented to the two winners on March 11th in Tirana, for the following reasons:

– Nihad Suljić, Bosnian humanitarian activist and founder of the DjelujBa! association in Tuzla. For several years, he has provided practical assistance to refugees, people on the move, and asylum seekers transiting along the Balkan route, and participated in the identification and burial procedures of those who die along the route. For this reason, he is being awarded the prize “for his ongoing humanitarian commitment and his community-based contribution to social peace.”

– the “Joint History Books Project” of the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE) in Thessaloniki, which aims to overcome nationalist narratives in history teaching in Southeast European countries. Joint History Workbooks promotes critical thinking and supports post-conflict reconciliation. For this reason, the project is being awarded the prize “for its long-term educational role in promoting mutual understanding and reconciliation.”

The ceremony will take place, starting at 10:00 a.m., in the main hall of the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel” in Tirana and will be led by Professor Raul Caruso, Director of the CESPIC Center. Following greetings from Ruggero Valentini, President of the “Our Lady of Good Counsel” Foundation; Leonardo Paolombi, Rector of the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel”; Monsignor Mirosław Adamczyk, Apostolic Nuncio to Albania; and Alessandro Saggioro, Full Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, by Luisa Chiodi, Scientific Director of OBCT/CCI, will award Nihad Suljić, Zvezdana Kovač, and Christina Koulouri (for the “Joint History Books Project”).

At 12:30 p.m., in the Garden of the Righteous at the “Our Lady of Good Counsel” Foundation, the names of the two Italian magistrates, Falcone and Borsellino, brutally murdered for their fight against the Mafia, will be engraved.

See the  detailed program for the March 11 ceremony.