ԵՌԱԳՈՅՆ. The twelfth International Hrant Dink Award was presented on Tuesday, September 15th by an online ceremony. This year’s awards were granted to Osman Kavala who devoted his life to building a pluralistic and democratic society and showed that human rights and social dialogue can be strengthened through culture and art and Mozn Hassan one of the pioneers of the feminist movement across the Middle East and North Africa, struggling against sexual violence and women rights violations in Egypt.
The award ceremony was hosted by Şebnem Bozoklu and Alican Yücesoy in Turkish, and also by Ece Dizdar in English languages. The ceremony was held at 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory and the opening speech was delivered by International Hrant Dink Award Committee President Ahmet İnsel.
Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Can Bonomo, Dialog Project, Kalben, Kudsi Erguner, and O.F.F. have participated in the ceremony with their special performances for the night.
Moreover, people and institutions from Turkey and all around the world, who shed light to humanity with their struggles are acknowledged as the ‘Inspirations’ of 2020. Among the Inspirations of this year, there human and women’s rights defenders from Turkey to Chile, Indonesia to Lebanon, Germany to the United States, India to China, as well as inspirational individuals and initiatives with their demands for peace, equal citizenship, democracy and justice.
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At the ceremony, Rakel Dink sang one of the favorite songs of her husband Hrant Dink at Surp Toros Armenian Church in Tekirdağ Malkara, which is awaiting restoration. The night ended with the song “Son Dakika Golü” (Last Minute Goal) by Arto Tunçboyacıyan composed specially for the ceremony.
The award jury is composed of 2019 International Hrant Dink Award laureate, women’s right activist Nebahat Akkoç, 2019 International Hrant Dink Award laureate human rights and environmental rights activist Agnes Kharshiing, film director Emin Alper, author Tanıl Bora, legal scholar and activist César Rodríguez Garavito, film director Robert Guédiguian, lawyer Viviana Krsticevic, children’s rights activist Molly Melching, author and diplomat Şafak Pavey, political scientists and author Füsun Üstel and the President of Hrant Dink Foundation Rakel Dink.
The International Hrant Dink Award was previously presented to, , women’s right activist Nebahat Akkoç, human rights and environmental rights activist Agnes Kharshiing in 2019, Murat Çelikkan, a human rights activist who conducts projects on collective memory and coming to terms with the past, Mwatana Organization for Human Rights from Yemen which struggle against the human rights violations and protection of rights in the country in 2018, Eren Keskin a lawyer who brings human rights into the agenda of Turkey and abroad, Ai Weiwei an artist draws attention to inequalities all throughout the world, tribal chief who works for children’s human rights and education rights Theresa Kachindamoto, a civil society organisation that works for human rights and rule of law Diyarbakır Bar Association in 2016, women’s rights activist from Saudi Arabia Samar Badawi and LGBT association KAOS GL in 2015, to forensic medicine specialist and human rights defender Şebnem Korur Fincancı and anti-nuclear activist Angie Zelter in 2014, to human rights defender Nataša Kandic and Saturday Mothers / People in 2013, to author İsmail Beşikçi and human rights organisation International “Memorial” Society Russia in 2012, to journalist-writer Ahmet Altan and journalist, human rights defender Lydia Cacho in 2011, the Conscientious Objection Movement of Turkey and prosecutor Balthasar Garzón in 2010, to the journalist-writer Alper Görmüş and journalist-writer Amira Hass in 2009.