On October 31, the Shimon Peres Prize 2024 was solemnly awarded at the City Hall of Berlin. Following the cancellation of last years’ award ceremony, we are more than pleased to have been able to honor this years’ award winners in a proper manner.

The prize was awarded by Minister of State Dr. Tobias Lindner to two outstanding German-Israeli cooperation projects that have made a special impact for the empowerment of women and the inclusion of people with disabilities in Germany and Israel: Link Bridge and PowHer.

In addition to the Shimon Peres Prize, this year only, a Special Prize was awarded to a civil society initiative in Israel that provided urgently needed help after the terrorist attack. We are delighted that the organization SAHI was awarded the Shimon Peres Special Prize 2024 for its outstanding commitment and impressive work.

In his speech, Tobias Lindner emphasized that “these three projects - PowHer, Link Bridge and SAHI - represent the values which Shimon Peres so passionately embodied: peace, cooperation and the belief that every person, regardless of origin or circumstance, can contribute to a better future.”

Mayor Stefan Evers cordially welcomed the guests from Germany and Israel. Andrea Kiewel, member of the Shimon Peres Prize Jury, moderated the award ceremony and charmingly guided the over 300 guests through the evening. In her speech, Prof. Tsvia Walden, daughter of Shimon Peres, highlighted the hope for peace and the social radiance the award winners embody. She emphasized: “This is the direction we should be following – listening to each other, seeking and revealing what we have in common and what is unique in our region, and singing instead of shooting. That's a good start.”

Dr. Tamara Or, director of the Future Forum, praised the groundbreaking work of the projects and accentuated: “Today we celebrate our award winners and we also celebrate that we are not alone in our commitment to a respectful coexistence and a different tomorrow; we celebrate that we are many and that togetherness and standing up for each other are not empty words.”

The musical accompaniment of the evening was provided by the Revolution Orchestra from Israel. After the award-ceremony, the event concluded with a get-together with music, food and drinks at the City Hall of Berlin. The evening set a powerful sign for togetherness, diverse civil society engagement and the strengthening of pluralistic German Israeli relations.

The program can be found here.