MEDITERRANEAN AWARDS

In 1996, the Fondazione Mediterraneo instituted the Mediterranean Awards (with various categories) that are granted every year to eminent personalities from the worlds of arts and culture, politics and science and social disciplines, whose actions have contributed to reducing tensions, breaking down cultural barriers and developing shared values in the Greater Mediterranean.

This Award is considered one of the most prestigious acknowledgements in the world.

Various events are associated with the Mediterranean Award, such as the “Euro-Mediterranean Concert for Dialogue Among Cultures” and the “Epiphany Concert” (organized by the Cultural Centre “Oltre il Chiostro” in collaboration with the Fondazione Mediterraneo. The latter event is broadcast by RaiUno and Rai International throughout the world every year on the morning of January 6th).

 

 


Corrado Beguinot - 2012
Ingegnere
ITALIA

Per aver, nel suo lungo percorso, dedicato la propria vita alla ricerca scientifica ed alla sperimentazione progettuale nelle tematiche della pianificazione urbanistica territoriale, sfociate, a livello internazionale, all’ideazione e promozione della città europea interetnica cablata.
Con la Fondazione Aldo Della Rocca rappresenta il precursore della nuova era interetnica cablata quale base della Pace nel mondo in cui tutti i popoli della terra, fraternamente uniti, saranno ritenuti “Un solo Popolo in una sola Città”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 3 September 2012


Alessandro Ortis - 2012
Ingegnere
ITALIA

Professionista e uomo che si è dedicato e si dedica, con convinto impegno, nel promuovere istituzioni, organismi ed iniziative di particolare importanza per una sempre più avanzata collaborazione e coesione tra i Paesi del Mediterraneo.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 21 november 2011

Senen Florensa Palau - 2011
Direttore dell’Istituto Europeo per il Mediterraneo

Per aver contribuito, prima come Ambasciatore e poi come Direttore dell’Istituto Europeo per il Mediterraneo di Barcellona, a promuovere i valori del dialogo e della pace nella regione euromediterranea, difendendo le buone pratiche nel Partenariato Euromediterraneo.
Per questo motivo la Fondazione Mediterraneo, con l’Accademia del Mediterraneo, ha attribuito a Senen Florensa Palau il Premio Mediterraneo “Delfino d’Argento” 2011.


Awarding Ceremony
Barcellona, 07 october 2011

Emanuele Vittorio - 2011
Medico Odontoiatra

Per la sua azione in favore del bene comune, attraverso il puntuale e rigoroso esercizio della professione di medico-odontoiatra.
Per la competenza attiva, la solidarietà ed il non arrendersi di fronte a difficoltà per altri insormontabili.
L’attenzione verso le persone indigenti e la sua continua ricerca su tecniche mediche d’avanguardia hanno assicurato la risoluzione di problemi complessi restituendo dignità e qualità della vita, con un occhio di riguardo ai più bisognosi.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 23 september 2011

BAGNO ELENA di GIOVANNI MORRA

Il Bagno Elena costituisce un simbolo ed un’eccellenza per Napoli, l’Italia e il Mediterraneo.
Nasce a Posillipo, dove la storia millenaria delle Grandi Culture umane ha fatto intrecciare la filosofia con la spiritualità. Grazie all’impegno attivo e silenzioso di Giovanni Morra e dei figli Mario e Antonella, il Bagno Elena – con le Terme Pausylia – costituisce un luogo unico e prezioso per il benessere e la qualità della vita: è l’esempio di una famiglia che crede nella rinascita dell’imprenditoria napoletana e che, con la sua dedizione al mare, prosegue la tradizione degli stabilimenti balneari su palafitte. Questa azione meritevole è di esempio per la rinascita turistica di Napoli e per la conservazione della “Risorsa Mare”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 23 september 2011

Alla memoria di GUIDO GRIMALDI
Fondatore e Presidente del Gruppo Grimaldi, ITALIA

Per aver contribuito attraverso la diffusione dei collegamenti marittimi e delle “Autostrade del Mare” – nel Mediterraneo e nel Mondo – a promuovere con lungimiranza quel “meticciato di civilta`” che e` alla base dello sviluppo condiviso e della pace. Per questo motivo la Fondazione Mediterraneo, con l’Accademia del Mediterraneo, ha attribuito alla memoria di Guido Grimaldi il Premio Mediterraneo “Delfino d’Argento” 2011.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 20 May 2011

H.E. Mgr. Rocco Favale - 2010
Bishop of Vallo della Lucania, ITALY

His commitment to promote peace among peoples and strengthen solidarity in Cilento area are fundamental pillars of his action. He has the merit of allowing the realization of the monumental work “Totem for Peace” by Rutino Cathedral.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

Sergio Piazzi - 2010
Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, ITALY

His commitment and passion aiming at strengthening the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) are unanimously recognized. Thanks to his commitment, it has been possible to harmonize the role of the Parliaments of Mediterranean Countries making them accept a shared view, especially about the values and fundamental rights of the human person.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

to the memory of Baltasar Porcel - 2010
Writer, journalist and literary critic, SPAIN

World-famous writer, acute and determined journalist, in his works Baltasar Porcel has told today’s society with precision and irony. Founder and director of the Catalan Institute of the Mediterranean he has turned his deeply Mediterranean culture into a political action, thanks to which Catalonia, Barcelona and Spain have been able to take on a first-rank role in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

to the memory of Gennaro Pompilio - 2010
President of Vesuvius Tour Operators, ITALY

A man who reminded us that words alone are not enough. His love for Vesuvius, as pioneer of tourism and coordinator of Vesuvius Tour Operators, show us how it is possible to promote peace and mutual respect through positive actions.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2010

to the memory of Ahmed Jebli - 2009
President of the University Cadi Ayyad of Marrakech, MOROCCO

History has known more than one person who, though without media renown, have played an extraordinary role in the events that mark the life of a State. Ahmed Jebli belongs to this gallery, for the contribution given to the promotion of knowledge and culture, especially in the academic field. The themes he envisaged have a high vision of education, always overcoming the borders of class and belonging. Ahmed Jebli‘s action falls within this framework, always aiming at understanding the reasons “of the other” and at developing friendship among the peoples of the Mediterranean. He was a reference point for the Fondazione Mediterraneo that wishes to pay a tribute to him by this acknowledgement.

Awarding Ceremony
Marrakech, 4 June 2009

Abdelwahed Radi - 2007
President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and President of the Moroccan Parliament, MOROCCO

He is a great supporter of the Barcelona Declaration and, in particular, of the necessity to strength Euro-Mediterranean relationships. A defender of democracy, he voted his life to create a new humanism in order to transform the Mediterranean, through the promotion of dialogue, into a democratic area of knowledge and mutual respect.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 5 July 2007

to the memory of Manuel Vazquez Montalban - 2004
Writer, SPAIN

A great Spanish writer, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán told the story of today’s society with irony and acumen through his main character: Pepe Carvalho. He was among the first to join the Fondazione Mediterraneo and this acknowledgment is not meant to be an institutional award, but rather a great warm remembrance from his “Mediterranean family”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2004

Raffaele La Capria - 2003
Writer, ITALY

His work represents a long meditation on the missed occasion of the single being and of the entire history, also an emblem of the Mediterranean, which from the missed occasioons is still tragically constructing its present.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 28 May 2003

to the memory of Federico Bugno - 2003
Journalist and writer, ITALY

Federico Bugno produced some of the greatest journalistic pieces with his strong reportages, showing that in order not to succumb to globalisation, journalism had to be “democratised”. He belongs to one of the last “big ones” who flies high; from Tiananmen Square to the Berlin Wall and to Sarajevo.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 June 2003

to the memory of Izet Sarajlic' - 2003
Poet, BOSNIA

A man who showed us that literature in itself would not be enough. His teachings and his works encourage us to promote, peace and reciprocal respect through concrete actions.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 June 2003

to the memory of Marcello Gigante - 2002
Professor, expert in papyrus, ITALY

In the transformation period started after the second world war, Marcello Gigante, Iike Carducci in his time, gave voice to the relation between ancient culture and modern conscience, reconsidering the text of Herodotus and interpreting the historical lines of the classic world in the mark of the Nomos Basileus, the sovereignty of the law. Translator of Diogenes Laertius and Director of the collections “La Scuola di Platone” and “La scuola di Epicuro”, he deepened the study of ancient philosophy, in particular of Epicurus and Philodemus of Gadara, through the study of Herculaneum papyri. His essays on Leopardi, Settembrini, Quasimodo and on the classical culture of the period between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are focused on the relation between ancient and modern time. He was editor of “Parola del Passato”, director of the “Studi di Filologia Classica”, National President of the Italian Association of Classical Culture. His publications, more than 700, have always contained highly significant descriptions and views. Among his works, it is worth remembering: “Le Elleniche di Ossirinco”, “Nomos Basileus”, “Civiltà delle forme letterarie nell’antica Pompei”, “Classico e mediazione”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2002

to the memory of Paolo Bufalini - 2002
Senator of the Italian Republic, ITALY

History has known more than one personalities who, though without media renown, have played an extraordinary role in the political events that mark the life of a State. Paolo Bufalini belongs to this gallery: for the contribution given during the 30’s to the creation of one of the most important and active anti-fascist groups, the Roman one, also because he gathered young intellectuals who later on played an important role on the political and intellectual scene of the post-war period, for the contribution given to the Italian resistance in Yugoslavia; as animator, after the liberation, of the Autonomist Southern Movement, in Sicily and in the South, struggling for Agrarian Reform and modernization of the Country; as a strong and wise mind In the action for the renewal of P.C.I., the unity of the left party, the convergences among all democratic forces. He dealt with all these issues with a high vision of politics, always overcoming the class and party borders, like a Cavour-style statesman. This is the framework in which falls the exceptional work made by Bufalini in drafting a foreign policy of détente, of understanding of the other’s reasons, of friendship among the peoples of the Mediterranean; the activities aiming at guaranteeing religious peace and Improving relations between the Italian State and the Vatican, through the renewal of the Concordat. And he did so as a laic, persuaded that only a lay State and the respect of the religious conscience of the Individual and of the communities can defeat the fundamentalism that has blooded the word for centuries, until today. Bufalini was also a serious specialist in Greek and Latin and a careful and acute translator of Horace, thus telling us that the mingling of culture and politics is vital and necessary to make noble and effective public commitment, to improve one’s country and the mutual knowledge of peoples.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2002

Mediterranean Award "Culture" - 2018
to
Mohamed Zinelabidine
Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia, TUNISIA

During a ceremony held at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in Tunis, international juries have assigned to S.E. Mohamed Zinelabidine - Minister of Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia - the "Mediterranean Award for Culture 2018".
The award was presented by the president Michele Capasso
.

Awarding Ceremony
Tunis, 30 october 2018

Mediterranean Award "Culture" - 2018
to
Khalid bin Khalifa al Khalifad
Executive Director of the ISA Cultural Center, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

The award was assigned to Khalid bin Khalifa al Khalifa for his efforts concerning cultural diversity and interreligious dialogue.
In his capacity as executive director of the ISA Cultural Center, he worked for the affirmation of respect between different cultures and religious faiths as a heritage of humanity.
His action, appreciated all over the world, is today more than ever necessary for the defense of human rights and for a lasting dialogue capable of spreading and consolidating a great coalition of shared values and interests.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 03 May 2018

Premio Mediterraneo "Cultura" per la Poesia e l’Innovazione - 2015
S.E. Dr.
Mana Saeed Al-Otaiba
Ex Ministro del petrolio e delle risorse minerarie degli Emirati Arabi Uniti

Il Premio Mediterraneo per la Poesia e l'Innovazione viene assegnato al dottor Mana Saeed Al-Otaiba per il suo impegno per l'alleanza tra le civiltà, il rispetto per la diversità e la convivenza pacifica tra popoli diversi. Mana Saeed Al Otaiba è un esempio della grande e vera tradizione arabo-mediterranea, che unisce la passione della letteratura, della poesia, dell''arte...
Durante la sua carriera, il dottor Mana Saeed Al-Otaiba ha introdotto innovazione, nello spirito delle sue poesie,

Awarding Ceremony
Marrakech, 12 June 2015

Mediterranean Award "Culture" - 2015
to
Abdulaziz Al-Saud Babtain
Presidente della Fondazione “Abdulaziz Al Saud-Babtain - Emirati Arabi Uniti

Il “Premio Mediterraneo per la Cultura 2015” è stato attribuito al prof. Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain per il ruolo e gli sforzi nella diffusione della cultura della pace, riunendo gruppi di intellettuali, statisti e leader di tutto il mondo.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 21 october 2015

Mediterranean Award "Culture" - 2015
to
Khalid H. Al-Malik
Professor - Emirati Arabi Uniti

Il “Premio Mediterraneo per la Cultura 2015” è stato attribuito al prof. Khalid H. Al-Malik per gli sforzi compiuti in favore dell’Alleanza tra le civiltà e la coesistenza pacifica tra i diversi popoli del mondo.
Khalid H. Al-Malik è l’esempio d’una grande tradizione araba che associa la passione del giornalismo al gusto della verità dei fatti.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Napoli, 21 ottobre 2015

Mediterranean Award for "Culture" - 2014
to David Abulafia
UNITED KINGDOM

To the merits acquired with his studies on the history of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Among his books: Frederick II, a medieval emperor (1990), The kingdoms of the western Mediterranean 1200-1500 (1999) The discovery of humanity, Atlantic encounters in the age of Columbus (2010). In his book ‘The Great Sea’ (English edition, “The Great Sea”, 2010), David Abulafia describes the Mediterranean as the most dynamic place for interaction between different societies on the face of the planet: a space in the history of human civilization has played a much more significant role than any other stretch of water.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 january 2014

Mediterranean Award for Culture - 2013
Antoine Nasri Messarra
Professor - Journalist
LEBANON

An intellectual and a professor at several European universities, President of the Lebanese Political Science Association, through his many publications Antoine Nasri Messarra has promoted the dissemination of culture as a tool of dialogue and peace in the Mediterranean and throughout the world.
His publications on Religion and Politics in Arab PoliticalSsystems (1993); the Democratic Construction (1995) and Tomorrow’s Citizen (3 vol.,1995-1998) are central to understanding cultural evolution in Arab countries.
As a member of the Consultative Council of the Annan Lindh Foundation, he has laid down the guidelines of a new cultural challenge in the Arab Spring countries.
His action is a point of reference for those who rely on culture for building democracy and a future for young people.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 05 April 2013

The Mediterranean Award for Culture - 2012
to Youths of the “Arab Spring Revolutions"
SYRIA - EGYPT- TUNISIA - LIBYA

This Award is bestowed upon youth representatives in Syriak Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, who thanks to their actions and conviction, especially through the use of new means of communication, brought about the capitulation of dictatorial regimes and enabled the difficult path towards Democracy and Freedom to be undertaken.


Awarding Ceremony
Nicosia, 10 November 2012

MEDITERRANEAN AWARD “CULTURE” - 2011
BICHARA KHADER

The Mediterranean “Culture” Award 2011 was attributed to Prof. Bichara Khader (Palestine) for his action in favour of dialogue and peace.
The awarding ceremony was held in Barcelona on October 7th 2011 at Pedralbes Palace – seat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UpM) – in the presence of UpM Secretary General Youssef Amrani.


Awarding Ceremony

Barcellona, 07 october 2011

Roberto Vecchioni - 2011
Professor, songwriter, ITALY

For his contribution to the spreading of the value of culture and music as a fundamental instrument for dialogue, cooperation and solidarity among populations.

Awarding Ceremony
Torino, 16 March 2011

to the memory of Mario Molinari - 2010
Sculptor, ITALY

Mario Molinari was born in Coazze in 1930. He became manager of the paper mill Sartorio, then he realized that he was born for the Art. His sculpture is meant to stimulate soul ironically, he makes a weapon out of the colour, a power able to overthrow reality. His polyhedric subjects and materials lead his sculptures to the greatest expression, almost touching the fourth dimension. By his sculpture “Totem for Peace” – recognized as such all over the world – Molinari intended to refer to our purest and most infantile soul so as to produce an extraordinary “noise of love”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

to the memory of Maurizio Valenzi - 2010
Artist, ITALY

Maurizio Valenzi, born in Tunis in a family from Livorno, started his activity as a painter attending for some years the Fine Art Academy of Tunis. In June 1932, coming back to Tunisia in Chaffar area, he promoted the union struggle of Arab labourers against the great European landowners. In 1937, in Paris, he met various protagonists of the new French culture, such as Tristan Tzara, Paul Eluard, Aragon, André Wumser, J.R. Bloch and studied the works of the Impressionists and of the Ecole de Paris. His artistic activity brings together the two shores of the Mediterranean bridging the “European thought” and the “Mediterranean breath”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

to the memory of H.E. Mgr. Luigi Padovese - 2010
Vicar Apostolic in Anatolia, ITALY

Born in Milan in 1947, he enters the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin in 1965. He is professor at the Pontifical Antonianum University and has been the Director of the Institute of Spirituality for sixteen years. He has been visitor of the Eastern Council of the Congregation for Eastern Churches for ten years. On 11th October 2004 he is appointed Vicar Apostolic of Anatolia. On 3 rd June 2010, he was stabbed to death by his driver in his house of Iskenderun, a Turkish city on the Mediterranean. The members of the Jury of the “Mediterranean Award”, gathered in Goteborg (Sweden) on 6th November 2009 and in Naples on 4th December 2009, granted the “Mediterranean Award for Culture” to Monsignor Luigi Padovese for the following reason: “As he has always witnessed – with perseverance, commitment and generosity – the universal values of dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding, promoting peaceful coexistence of different religions all over the world, and mainly in the Middle East. He has opposed his huge culture to the widespread ignorance often at the origin of fundamentalism and integralism, looking for a future of solidarity and peace”. On 5 th June 2010, after the assassination of Msgr Luigi Padovese, the Jury of the “Mediterranean Award”, during an ad-hoc session in Rome, decided to reconfirm the award to “his memory”, highlighting the importance of the cultural activity in favour of dialogue carried out by Mgr Luigi Padovese, as an example for future generations.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

Pegaso Thelematic University - 2010
Thelematic University, ITALY

Fondazione Mediterraneo assigned this award to Pegaso University for being a focal point and an innovating example in international research and for being an instrument to promote dialogue among civilizations and culture.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2010

Carmen Romero - 2009
President of Circúlo Mediterraneo, SPAIN

She is the founder of the Circúlo Mediterraneo and this award wants to pay tribute to her actions in promoting integration among politics, culture and civil society in the Mediterranean area. Her action strengthens the initiatives in favour of the respect of human rights and gender equality.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 16 February 2009

Student of Gaza - 2009
PALESTINE

In the city of Gaza, caught in the grip of an inexorable paralysis, living in poverty with little livelihood, among endless problems, young people don’t give way to despondency and desolation but look for everything that may enlighten and feed their mind. They are self-educated, they exchange information and educational tools and transcribe any uplifting or useful reading accessible to one of them, supporting each other spurred by that human ambition described as “seguir virtute e canoscenza” in Dante’s words. This prize aims to remember them to the world that has left them alone, even ignoring the UN declarations, and hides this action of abandon behind the ambiguous language highlighted by Joris Luyendijk in “Almost human. Images from the Near East”, of 2006.

Awarding Ceremony
Gaeta, 27 March 2009

Wassyla Tamzali - 2008
Writer, ALGERIA

For her cultural work which testifies the liberation war in Algeria through the painful events of its protagonists. For expressing, with her work, the multiple dimensions and contradictions of the South Shore, suffering victim of the colonial age and of the unexpected post-colonial drifts which attempt on individual liberties and rights, undermining the principles of freedom whereof the Euro-Mediterranean culture is a proud protagonist and witness. For giving voice to abuses of power which women are victims in all patriarchal and sexist cultures of the Mediterranean.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 19 February 2009

'Ala Al Aswani - 2007
Writer, EGYPT

Writer and novelist, he goes on representing through his narration the contemporary Egyptian society with all its social and psychological problems and as they are revelated in the encounter and strife among people of different ages, gender and status. Through these pictures a transformation process gets to develop which is suffered by the Arab society in a rapid changing of a world and in difficult relation with the West which transform it.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 16 March 2007

Gerardo Marotta - 2007
President of Italian Institute for Philosophical Studies, ITALY

The prize was awarded to the Italian Institute for Philosophical Studies and to its President and founder, Gerardo Marotta. For years he played the role of ethical and moral guide, he embodies the values of dialogue and cultural integration. With the actions carried out, he made Naples the point of reference of the ancient Euro-Mediterranean culture promoting the idea of the World and of the Human beings in their mutual sense of belonging. He affirms, at the same time, the values of the individual and of the community, in the constitution of the “Polis” and of the “Common Good”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2007

Nazional Library of Algiers - 2006
Director General Amin Zaoui, ALGERIA

He played an important role in the approach among cultures, for his efforts on the national and international context in favour of the diffusion of books and literature and, consequently, for the development of dialogue among cultures and civilisations in the region of the Greater Mediterranean.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Algeri, 25 February 2006

Mohamed Kabbaj - 2005
President of the Fèz Festival of World Sacred Music, MOROCCO

He carried out a great work of spiritual dialogue which reminds us, both through the performances of Fez Festival and through his speeches, a message of Mediterranean humanism, that contributes to the spread of the highest values of culture and civilization.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Casablanca, 22 November 2005

Mateja Matevski - 2005
Writer, MACEDONIA

Born in 1929, he was educated in the war period in that spirit of freedom and political and national renaissance which brought to the revolt of the peoples who constituted Yugoslavia. Starting from the second part of the 20th century, his poetic works have marked with an original and indelible voice the development of the new Macedonian literature within Balkan culture like a lyric reflection of universal value expressed in a clear and perfect shape. A further testimony that small nations are not minor nations and, thanks to their scholars, they are able to give a significant contribution to the richness of human culture.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 25 February 2005

Kamel Zoheri - 2004
President of the Council of the Great Cairo Library, EGYPT

He gave a great contribution to the promotion of dialogue and intercultural communication among the Countries of the Islamic-Arab World and the West. He is one of the protagonists on the cultural scene of Egypt and one of the great persons of culture of this century.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Cairo, 4 December 2004

Suzanne Mubarak - 2003
President of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, EGYPT

She played a leading role in the realisation of the project of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina: its rebirth is an act of faith to the memory of a people and, at the same time, of a cultural which belongs to humanity.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 9 September 2003

H.E. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray - 2001
ITALY

Following Pope John Paul II’s recommendations, he launched a dissemination process for dialogue among religions and cultures. He accomplished this through liturgy but also through well chosen new technologies and channels of new communication and information.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2001

Repubblic of Malta - 2000
MALTA

The Republic of Malta is a unique example in the Mediterranean. History and culture of Maltese islands are mingled with those of Europe and of the Mediterranean across the centuries, since the prehistoric period, when the archipelago was part of a vast territory extending from Northern Africa to Europe. Megalithic monuments, erected at Xaghra, are considered the most ancient in the world: Ggantilia temples, built around 300 B.C., before Egyptian pyramids. Later on Malta was ruled by various peoples among which Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs: a mingling of knowledge, religions, traditions and destinies which make this island in the middle of the Mediterranean a priceless cultural heritage. However, those who left a decisive mark were the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, by chasing off the Turks of Solyman the Magnificent and turning the island into a true cultural deposit. Today the Republic of Malta has undertaken the journey towards Europe. Prof. Guido de Marco is one of the authors of this process. Foreign Minister for a long period and today President of the Republic, he has been able to embody the three Mediterranean “Forces”, showing in his action the experience of a political man as well as that of man of culture and economics. Today this global vision enables the Republic of Malta, under the leadership of President de Marco, to play an important role in the cultural, social and economic partnership between the European Union and Mediterranean Countries: a vital function for the future of the Region and for the preservation of its ancient culture in a period in which the risks of flattening deriving from the globalisation process are well known by everybody.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 5 January 2000

H.M. Hussein Bin Talal - 1999
King of the Hashemite Kingdom of JORDAN

During 46 years of Reign, His Majesty King Hussein bin Talal worked relentlessly for a long-lasting peace and for the development of mutual comprehension and respect between the people of Jordan and the rest of the Middle East. In addition, he worked to attain a level of cultural tolerance and comprehension, free artistic expression and exchange between different cultures and religions, supporting national and international prestigious artists and intellectuals to practise their culture and creativity without restraint. Through local and International cultural festivals, exhibitions, meetings, scholarships and training programmes, the Government and private organizations have always been encouraged to support the free expression of traditional and contemporary culture, art and literature in all their forms, as well as establishing and maintaining relations between local communities and famous national and international artists for a free exchange of ideas and cultural expressions that can one day be the foundations for a world of peace and cooperation for future generations. His Majesty King Hussein is the author of a ‘culture of peace’ in the Arab World: for these reasons the Fondazione Mediterraneo, with the Accademia del Mediterraneo, has granted to H.M. King Hussein bin Talal the Mediterranean Award for Culture 1999.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 5 January 1999

H.M. Juan Carlos I - 1998
King of SPAIN

He has been able to use the monarchy as a tool of a secure and flourishing transition. With discretion and determination he has pushed hard reintegration of Spain in the concert of a renovated Western world by suggesting with the diversity of the policies the unity of the final outcome and the balance of the autonomies and the respect of the different Iberian cultures, as well as solidarity among people who have been tied by a common history in the past centuries.

Awarding Ceremony
Palermo, 1 October 1998

Vincent Dieutre -2013
Regista

Vincent Dieutre ha vissuto a New York e a Roma prima di dedicarsi al cinema. Autore di numerosi scritti sul legame tra il cinema e l'arte contemporanea, insegna al dipartimento di cinema dell'Università di Parigi VII. Da cineasta esplora il «confine tra documentari e auto-fiction».

La Fondazione Mediterraneo gli attribuisce questo riconoscimento per aver creato un sistema poetico personale e umanista, capace di reinventare la scrittura di sé nella solitudine, nella separazione e nel ripiegamento, sopperendo in questo modo al bisogno umano di essere percepiti dall'Altro per sentirsi vivi. Il cinema di Dieutre è prima di tutto parola, una parola che riempie e personalizza anonime stanze di un hotel come intere città.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 05 october 2013

DEDA (ASPETTANDO MAMMA/WAITING FOR MUM) - 2013
best short film of the director Nana Ekvtimishvili (GE) 2011

At the Trieste Film Festival, with whom the Fondazione Mediterraneo has been collaborating since1995, the 2013 Mediterranean Cinema Award for the best short film was awarded to “Deda” (Waiting for Mum) by Nana Ekvtimishvili.

The winner is "Deda, Apettando Mamma" of Nana Ekvtimishvili (GE) 2011

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 26 January 2013

APELE TAC, SILENT RIVER - 2012
miglior cortometraggio della regista Anca Miruna Lăzărescu, (DE/RO), 2011.

The Mediterranean Cinema Award 2012 was assigned, during the Trieste Film Festival, at the best short-film in contest. Fondazione Mediterraneo collaborates with Trieste Film Festival since 1995.
The winner is "Apele tac, silent river", Anca Miruna Lăzărescu, (DE/RO), 2011.

Awarding Ceremony
Trieste, 25
January 2012

DER KLEINE NAZI (THE LITTLE NAZI) - 2011
Best short film by director Petra Lüschow, GERMANY
Germany, 2010, 35mm, col., 14’, v.o. tedesca

The young German director explores the themes related to the need for dialogue among different cultures and the difficult and controversial relation between individual and power. As every year, the Wölkel family celebrates Christmas with grandmother. But this year something unexpected and shocking takes place: grandmother wants to recall the nazi Christmas of her young age. It is not a big problem, indeed, but it happens that just today they are waiting for a guest from Israel.

Awarding Ceremony
Trieste, 26 January 2011

VARIÁCIÓK (VARIAZIONI) - 2010
Best short‑film by Hungarian director Krisztina Esztergályos, UNGHERIA
Ungheria, 2009, DigiBeta, col., 28´, v.o. hungarian

The award has been assigned to “Variációk” where the young Hungarian director explores sexual relationships, provokes understanding of reality, shows awareness of visual style and talent for a precise cinema language. She shows compassion for her characters without any sentimentalism.

Awarding Ceremony
Trieste, 28 January 2010

Laura Morante - 2009
Actress, ITALY

Versatile and professional actress. She worked with young and famous directors in many Mediterranean Countries: from Italy to France to the Iberian Peninsula, crossing all kinds of movies, from thriller to comedy, always with outstanding results thanks to her personality and her innate artistic gift.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 12 June 2009

Ferzan Ozpetek - 2007
Film Director, TURKEY

For his contribution to the spreading of values of dialogue in the Great Mediterranean, giving a decisive impulse to cultural and social interaction in the Euro-Mediterranean area.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 15 June 2007

Yasmine Kassari - 2005
Film Director, MOROCCO

Her film work “L’Enfant endormi” shows the lives of women left alone by their partners and their daily work in the cornfields to nourish their children and the old people of the village. These women are freed and emancipated from the authoritative male figures, they can choose and evaluate their lives affairs in a context that often represents them as the victims of millenary traditions, but that has started a process of cultural renewal.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 16 June 2005

Pino Tordiglione - 2003
Film Director, ITALY

The film work of the Venice Screenings “The Stolen Christmas”, by Pino Tordiglione expresses in the originality, ingenuousness and simplicity of the cinematographic language, the Mediterranean culture and art emphasising, in its contents, the human values.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 12 December 2003

Ornella Vanoni - 2018
Singer and artist, ITALY

Ornella Vanoni is a great interpreter of the Italian song. His unique and distinctive style of interpretation characterizes his art, bringing to success songs of the most important Italian singer and songwriters.
His interpretations have involved various areas of society over the years: from the songs of mala to bossa nova and jazz. During his long career, he has participated in eight editions of the Sanremo Festival: in this last edition, Ornella Vanoni has been awarded the "Sergio Endrigo Award for best interpretation".
In recognition of a long career and, in particular, the consistency with which he has traversed a long section of the history of Italian song, Ornella Vanoni is awarded the "Mediterranean Award for Art and Creativity" 2018.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 14 May 2018

Pino Daniele - 2014
Singer and artist, ITALY

The Mediterranean is not only a journey through geography, history, religions, traditions, wars, cultures, destiny…
It is above all art and music that characterize the cradle of our civilization.
Pino Daniele represents the rare example of a person who, by matching cultural and musical contaminations, has been able to identify in the Mediterranean culture
that mixture of sound and passion being the fundamental basis of his art.
Starting from Naples Pino Daniele has refashioned music and song through the emotions of conscience, by transferring to the peculiarity of his voice and his guitar those vibrations of soul that make him a unique protagonist of the “Song coming from the Sea”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 29 october 2014

In memory of Lucio Dalla - 2013
Singer songwriter
(Italy)

His artistic temperament above all found its expression in the “Sea”, the Mediterranean, which he travelled upon so many times, and where he found inspiration for his most beautiful and universal compositions. The Mediterraneity of Lucio Dalla transpires and gathers force in a mix of sounds, cries, whispers, musical murmurs, verses, grimaces, warbling and emotions which are deeply touching, leaving a pallet of indelible colours that communicate in other languages whose origins are found in different cultures, traditions and faiths.

Awarding Ceremony
Bologna 04 March 2013

Antonio Borrelli - 2012
ITALY

Whether as a sculptor of impressive abstract forms or designer of small refined jewellery with movable interlocking mechanisms, Antonio Borrelli has built his creative genius around the mastery of his “know-how” to such an extent that his inspiration or sensitivity never exceed his technical ability.
He is able to pass from monumental megastructures to microstructure utilitarian objects or jewellery peculiar to art of the last century, the twentieth century. Despite his inherently transient character, as with all definitions, the term “micromega artist” may be used describe motivation and the contradictory path taken by Antonio Borelli, as his inquiry into formal completeness trascends the ways in which  plastic art and ornamental objects are used.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 04 January 2012

Giuseppe Antonello Leone - 2012
ITALY

His artistic express evolved between the two opposite poles of figurative art, transfigured by his own brand of tragic surrealism and love for recuperated object, which he injects with powerful irony about postindustrial consumerism. In all his works, his skill in the transfiguration of forms pervades, which is expressed through his technical mastery.
His works are also an expression of Mediterranean Art. His major works include: the bronze panels of the Way of the Cross at the Church of Saint Peter in Camerellis di Salerno, the cycle of mosaics at the Seminary Church of Sessa Aurunca, the mosaic at the Church of Saint Anthony of Corleto Perticara, the fresco in the Church of Our Lady of Spinoso, the stained-glass window in the Cathedral of  Benevento, three paintings in Church of Saint Anna in Potenza, the fresco in the Rocca dei Rettori in Benevento, the bronze panels for the cental door of the Cathedral of  Messina.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4
January 2012

Italian Association "Amici del Presepio" - 2011
Association artistic-cultural - Section Naples, ITALY

For promoting the crib art across the world and for valorising the incessant work of all the craftsmen who hand down the ancient know-how related to the crib, which reflects the characteristics of a community and of an epoch, representing the great mystery of Jesus’ birth.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2011

Roberto De Simone - 2010
Theatre director, composer and musicologist, ITALY

He has given an exemplary contribution to the history of lyric and the arts of show, especially as manager of the Teatro San Carlo of Naples. His primary objective has been that of restoring and valorizing the cultural, theatrical and musical heritage of the Campania region’s popular tradition, both written and oral. The popular repertoire is not proposed in an arbitrary way, but it is based on cultivated systems such as for instance writing and metric elaboration.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 26 March 2010

Pino Cacozza - 2009
Actor, musician, ITALY

Pino Cacozza has given expression to the collective consciousness of the Arbëreshe people. In his wide production of poems and songs he brings back to mind the latent memories of a community which is socially and politically melted into the Italian nation but is still preserving its historical and linguistic tradition. He prefers squares rather than theatres and in his performances he uses verses and music to exalt a whole people, renewing its roots, reinforcing its feeling of unity and swaying the audience in a choral brotherly dance at the end of the show.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 19 February 2009

Richard Galliano - 2008
Musician, FRANCE

For his great originality synthesising different musical experiences in a new interpretative key, made of improvisation and Mediterranean tradition, allowing the accordion to play as a protagonist in contemporary jazz.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2008

Yusuf Islam - 2007
Singer, UNITED KINGDOM

He gives voice to the feelings of universal fraternity and interreligious dialogue through the languages of popular music: notes and words which transmit not only deep emotions, but also common values shared by men of good will, beyond all social, cultural or ideological barrier.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2007

Rino Volpe - 2006
Painter, ITALY

For Rino Volpe, artistic research means research of oneself. With his father Pietro and his wife Maria Sofia, he opened the Gallery “Il Diagramma 32” in Naples: the cultural point of reference in the city until the 90s. His interest is particularly focused on signs and writings which, in his work “Soprappensieri”, lead him to insert quotations drawn from philosophers and poets who celebrate, like “the numbers and the alphabet”, the “Mediterran mood” with their own substance of “being” but especially with that of “existing”. His work is a reference point of modern art and, in spite of the Babel of languages, he is never tired of inventing new ones everyday because, as Orsini states, “art always gives a further meaning to things, making them signs”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 21 January 2006

Cheb Khaled - 2006
Singer, ALGERIA

For his contribution, through his art, in promoting the importance of dialogue among cultures demonstrating how music is a language able to bring people and countries together and to foster both synergies and trades, which constitute the basis for shared development and peace.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2006

Dee Dee Bridgewater - 2006
Singer, USA

For her ability in combining her vocal style with the African and Mediterranean rhythms. The awareness of the power of music to promote dialogue and inner feelings enabled her to help many people who, thanks to her songs filled with a remarkable Mediterranean feel, regained a new will to live.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2006

Giuseppe Ferrigno - 2005
Craftsman, ITALY

This award underlines the importance of Ferrigno’s works in preserving and diffusing the traditional Neapolitan craft of hand-made nativity scenes.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 19 December 2005

San Carlo Theatre - 2003-2004
Superintendent Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, ITALY

For its exemplary contribution to the history of grand opera and to the art of entertainment since 1737, the year in which it was founded by Carlo di Borbone. The San Carlo Theatre has added a Mediterranean dimension to its prestigious history when its chorus performed the “Hymn of the Mediterranean”.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 14 September 2003

Carla Guido - 2003
Actress, ITALY

She has been able, through her exceptional and cathartic interpretation, to make absolute the drama of the feminine universe, subordinate and victim of violence in a story written with blood.

 

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 14 March 2003

Moni Ovadia - 2002
Singer, Actor, ISRAEL

The search for novelty in life, custom and thought, which has been the dynamic force of the West since its first establishment, has frantically accelerated towards “modernity”. With regard to the societies which have rigorously maintained their traditions as concepts and custom as well as social order and even the forms of art, literature and language, “modernity” has an impact giving rise to a turbulence which – unlike invasions and wars that are suddenly upsetting but rapidly subsiding – can hardly calm down since “modernity” is violently confronted to convictions and habits, so it upsets well‑established economies, imposes to break the fabric in which everyone is contained but sure, blocked but steady, it liberates the individual and pushes him towards perspectives launched over nothingness. A deep, unprepared and unexpected break, giving rise to hopes that are not realized, bearing an illegible message. In the entire non-Western World, particularly in the Islamic World which in this situation cannot even find the promises of Greek philosophy that had nourished the West and that Islam itself had in part given back to it by Its falsafa, the consequences of that impact are overwhelming, they provoke oppositions which rigidly cling to the past. Facing such a great preclusion and violence, it is very difficult to try to promote mutual understanding and start a dialogue. It is with this aim that Moni Ovadia has dedicated, with passion and endurance, his constant work of research and invention to the revival and re-interpretation of ancient Sephardic and Arabic songs from the XIII and XIV century, recalling the common roots of those cultures that are today taken as ground for confrontation by peoples who, instead, cannot attain their renaissance without new cooperation and harmony.

Awarding Ceremony
Naplesi, 4 January 2002

Noa e Nabil - 2001
Singers, ISRAEL-PALESTINE

In a delicate moment of the relations between Israeli and Palestinian peoples, Noa and Nabil, two of the most famous Middle-Eastern musicians – Noa Israeli and Nabil Palestinian – have chosen to perform together, testifying the need of dialogue to settle conflicts. Noa and Nabil are strongly related by a common action expressed by the musical projects of the two groups arising from the wish of encounter. Radiodervish music (from “dar” “wish”: visitors of power) comes from Nabil’s will to combine the sonority of melody with the roots of Arab tradition. The rhythm – universal language – is the focus of the music of Noa, daughter of Israel grown in the Bronx, while her jazz training is the background of her songs. Noa’s and Nabil’s commitment for peace is the primary aim of their art, constantly pursued by both of them and recognized by their respective peoples. Recent history has abruptly put Israel and Palestine at the centre of international attention. Both populations are paying a very high price in terms of human lives and the peace process appears, day after day, farther and farther. That’s why any action aiming at promoting dialogue and cooperation between the two peoples is now indispensable and in this process the joint action undertaken by Noa and Nabil assumes an important and significant value. For these reasons, Fondazione Mediterraneo and Accademia del Mediterraneo grant to Noa and Nabil the Mediterranean Art and Creativity Award 2001, in acknowledgment of their will and ability to use the universal language of music as a peace tool.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2001

MASSIMO PICA CIMARRA -  Special Edition 2018
Architect/Pica Ciamarra Associati, ITALY

The award was assigned to Massimo Pica Ciamarra, for the utopian tension that projects and theoretical construction show, for the commitment in affirming a close relationship between formal expression and human behavior, for the generous contribution to a systemic vision in the processes of transformation of living environments.
Among the pioneers of the ecological approach in architecture, for its multifaceted activity has obtained not a few international acknowledgments. The attribution to Massimo Pica Ciamarra of the "special edition" of the Mediterranean Award for Architecture, highlights the exceptional nature of the long route and bears witness to a simultaneous interest in its future.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 03 May 2018

in memory of OSCAR NIEMEYER - 2014
Architect, BRAZIL

Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho, better known as Oscar Niemeyer (Rio de Janeiro, 15 December 1907 – Rio de Janeiro, 5 December 2012), was a Brazilian architect and one of the most renowned architects of the twentieth century. He worked for many years with Le Corbusier, and, despite advocating utilitarianism in architecture, his creations reflect the use of dynamic “Mediterranean” forms. They are so sensual that many of his admirers saw him as a sculptor of monuments more than an architect.
This award, which was conferred upon him on 10 November 2012, is now made to commemorate his works.

Awards Ceremony
Naples 13 January 2014

FILIPPO CANNATA – 2013
Architect
ITALY

He has been incisive and profession in the execution of his architectural work as well as in his relationships with light. 
His works, especially the "Light of the Mediterranean", are permeated with “Mediterraneanity” and combine the culture of architecture with rigour and lighting technology in compliance with the memory of place, the utility of spaces and the needs of individuals.

Awards Ceremony
Naples, 20 December 2013

 

VITTORIO DI PACE – 2012
Architect
ITALY

At 105 years old, Vittorio di Pace continues to work indefatigably as an architect on the project he has dreamed about all his life: that of creating an interethnic city.
His life has been based on Love for Life and the “Architect’s Profession”, which unites artistic spirit with curiosity for the world. He has carried out projects in Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, The Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
He is a rare example of curiosity and perceptiveness, brimming with enthusiasm for work and wellbeing, as well as being a careful observer of the world and creator of universal architecture without differences or hierarchies.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 4 January 2012

 

ZAHA HADID - 2011
Architect
IRAQ

Iraqi by birth, but a Londoner by adoption, Zaha Hadid is gradually but inexorably peppering the landscape of the world with her architectural creations. She is an inspired but refined visionary, whose works have been widely acclaimed in Italy. They include the Afragola High Speed Train Station in Naples and the new project for the Mediterranean Museum in Reggio Calabria or that of the Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum in Cagliari, as well as the revolutionary and futuristic National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome. Zaha Hadid is a reference point for the Greater Mediterranean on how Architecture can be used as a tool of peace and dialogue.

Awards Ceremony
Naples, 20 May 2011

 

ALVARO SIZA - 2009
Architect
PORTUGAL

He has been incisive and profession in the execution of his architectural work as well as in his relationships with the social and human capital of towns.
His works are permeated with “Mediterraneanity” and combine the culture of architecture with rigour and technique, respect for tradition, the utility of spaces and the needs of individuals.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 13 June 2010

FABRIZIO CARÒLA - 2005
Architect
ITALY

An architect who, through his talent, has been able to create structures based on the wisdom of ancient tradition in buildings. He has created living spaces that are both primitive and complex, bridging archaic tradition and futuristic space in which the simplicity of techniques is transformed into versatility of execution, clarity and rigour in the use of materials. Architecture of life and for life, which respects natural environments and satisfies the fundamental need for of serenity and harmony without resorting either to an excess of technology or obsolete technologies. With Fabrizio Caròla, Tèchne strive for freedom leading to the discovery of knowledge embodied in building techniques of the pre-modern tradition and paving the rich way  to the rich discovery of contemporary Mediterranean creativity.

Awarding Ceremony
Naples, 24 October 2005