ABU DHABI, 31st January, 2023 (WAM) — The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has named the Community of Sant’Egidio and Kenyan peacebuilder Shamsa Abubakar Fadhil as co-winners of the 2023 award.
The award recognises their contributions to peace and compassion through human fraternity and promoting peaceful coexistence.
The Community of Sant’Egidio is a humanitarian group based in Rome with offices in 73 countries, recognized for peace negotiations and supporting refugees. Mama Shamsa is recognised for her work in nurturing youth in Kenya and promoting women’s empowerment.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity was chosen by an international panel of experts in peace and human rights, including UN Under-Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos, former Vice President of Costa Rica Dr. Epsy Campbell Barr; Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation at the Holy See His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Nobel laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Ouided Bouchamaoui, and Secretary-General of Zayed Award for Human Fraternity and Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam.
The Secretary-General of the award, Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, said the honorees are leaders who promote compassion and hope and have positively impacted marginalised communities around the world. By giving the award to the Community of Sant’Egidio and Mama Shamsa, the award hopes to encourage others to promote human fraternity.
Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb released the Document on Human Fraternity, which outlines principles for humanity. This year’s honourees, the Community of Sant’Egidio and Mama Shamsa, demonstrate how these principles can be put into practice.
The judging committee hopes their efforts will inspire others to lead lives of service, humility, and compassion. From over 200 nominees, the honourees were chosen for their dedication to the common good.
The award ceremony will be held on 4th February 2023 in Abu Dhabi, UAE on the International Day of Human Fraternity.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is an annual international award with a US$1 million prize for individuals and entities who work towards promoting values of solidarity, integrity, fairness, and optimism to advance peaceful coexistence. Launched in 2019, the award commemorates the meeting between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, where they signed the Document on Human Fraternity.
The award is named in honour of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, renowned for his humanitarianism and dedication to helping people no matter their background.