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The 2021 Shimon Peres Prize: Foreign Minister Maas presents award to young German and Israeli leaders
project Negotiation Matters, © Goethe-Institut, Bernhard Ludewig
The Shimon Peres Prize is awarded to people or projects whose work generates enthusiasm for German-Israeli cooperation and tackles societal challenges in both countries in fresh and innovative ways.
Inter-Care and Awareness – promoting greater inclusivity for intersex people
The first prizewinning project, Inter-Care and Awareness, by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, develops new approaches to counselling and treatment for people born with a variety of differences in their sex traits. The project is expected to raise awareness of intersex issues in both societies and has the goal of helping intersex people to develop and thrive in their own identity thanks to psychosocial support.
Negotiation Matters – highlighting the importance of negotiations in resolving international conflicts
The second prizewinner is the project Negotiation Matters, by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, as well as the Goethe-Institut and Berlin University of the Arts. For this project, in 2019, a German-Israeli team of graphic design students and researchers created a poster exhibit on twelve international conflicts and the resolutions that were achieved through negotiation. The posters use practical examples such as the 1992 National Peace Accord in South Africa or the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to create a compelling narrative that highlights the importance of diplomacy, dialogue and empathy in achieving a resolution to conflict.
In Foreign Minister Maas’ speech to the prizewinners at the award ceremony, held in the Rotes Rathaus (Berlin City Hall), he also emphasised how strongly the project upholds the values that Shimon Peres stood for.
Peres firmly believed that tenacious diplomacy and dialogue between people make the crucial difference when it comes to resolving conflicts.
The Shimon Peres Prize is awarded annually in a ceremony at the Rotes Rathaus. As well as Foreign Minister Maas, family members of the former Israeli President were in attendance.