Awarding Speech at the Bergamo ICC Meeting
By D1690 PDG Anne-Marie Mouchet
This Peace Award Recognises Actions That Foster Understanding, Tolerance and Contributions to Peace Building
Promoting peace through Rotary and the ICCs has a meaningful and lasting impact throughout the world.
The initiatives carried out by the Intercountry Committees demonstrate every day that intercultural dialogue, international cooperation, and human connections are essential foundations for building lasting peace.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Nathalie, with whom I had the great pleasure of working on this ICC Peace Award project, as well as to her entire team. I would also like to warmly thank the members of the international jury for their commitment and dedication during the final selection process.
Thank you for this wonderful initiative and for the trust you placed in me throughout this journey.
The primary objective of this ICC Peace Award was twofold:
- to recognize, through the awarding of a €5,000 prize, an original and exemplary initiative promoting peace, intercultural dialogue, and international cooperation led by the ICCs;
- and also to highlight and promote the remarkable work carried out by ICCs around the world.
It is important to emphasize the historic significance of this edition, as this is the very first time such an award has been organized.
We had the honor of receiving 21 applications from several continents, which we considered a very encouraging result for this inaugural edition.
Each application reflected a sincere and inspiring commitment to peace. While some projects met the established criteria more comprehensively than others, every initiative deserves recognition for its quality and dedication.
All applications were carefully reviewed by a truly international jury, using a detailed and rigorous evaluation framework to ensure a fair and thorough selection of the laureate, who will officially be celebrated on May 30, 2026, during the ICC World Peace event.
The First Prize of the ICC Peace Award 2026 is awarded to the project:
“Cycling for Peace – Building Peace Through Personal Encounters Across Borders”
This project fulfilled all the required criteria. Beyond its outstanding contribution to peace building and fostering connections between people, the initiative also supports Polio eradication efforts and The Rotary Foundation.
The project was presented by the Intercountry Committee Austria –Germany –Italy –Malta – San Marino (ICC AGIMS), led by ICC Austria as the founding and coordinating chapter, in rotating cooperation with Germany and Italy.
It is now my great pleasure to invite Gerti Gruber to join me for the official presentation of the Peace Award 2026.
Allow me to conclude with a personal reflection: as someone deeply committed to international cooperation and friendship among peoples, I truly believe it would be invaluable to continue and further develop this remarkable initiative in the years to come.
Thank you very much for your attention, and I wish you all a wonderful evening.
Rotary Izmir Dokuz Eylül
District 2440, Turkey - Past District Governor
Past Rotary Public Image Coordinator
Turkish Rotary Magazine board member
Active member of the WASH and SRoF fellowships
TRF CADRE
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