Award Ceremony 2019
The Shimon Peres Prize award ceremony was held in Berlin for the third time on 15 September 2019, in the presence of the Peres family. The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, presented the award to two Israeli-German collaborative projects: “Professional Exchange: Understanding and Responsibilities” by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Jugendfreizeitstätten Sachsen e.V. together with Sapir College in southern Israel, and “More than One Democracy” by the Adam Institute for Democracy and Peace in Jerusalem with the Akademie Führung & Kompetenz, Center for Applied Policy Research (CAP) at the University of Munich.

Around 350 guests attended the award ceremony at the city hall in Berlin, and were cordially welcomed by Dr. Klaus Lederer, the Mayor of Berlin. Dr. Yonatan Peres, the son of Shimon Peres, provided musical entertainment with his band “Yoni Peres & זמן לשלום (Time for Peace)”. He guided the audience through the evening in Hebrew, Arabic and German, and encouraged everyone present to sing together.

The ceremony was held on the International Day of Democracy. Dr. Tamara Or, the Executive Director of the German-Israeli Future Forum, paid tribute to the important and pioneering work of the award-winners and addressed the audience: “We must now reaffirm our commitment to what others have given up so much, and in some cases everything, to achieve. […] Now, it’s up to us – whatever we contribute to the world, together and as individuals – will make itself felt in the world.”

In his speech, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Maas reminded those present of the remark made by Shimon Peres, that the future belongs to those who are willing to take risks. He thanked the award-winners for their commitment to combating social exclusion and promoting democracy, and encouraged everyone to consistently and unfailingly speak out against anti-Semitism and in support of a peaceful coexistence without prejudice.

The program for the event can be found here.


The Shimon-Peres-Prize in previous years