European Medal of Tolerance

The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation has established the European Tolerance Prize.

The purpose of the prize is to honour and reward extraordinary creative achievements in the promotion of tolerance. The emphasis is on achievement. The ultimate aim is to draw attention to successful undertakings that may serve as models for others in the field of tolerance and peace-building. The prize thus recognizes effectiveness as well as vision; impact assessment is a part of the nomination and evaluation process.

This prize is dedicated to effective implementation of the Principles of Tolerance in both public and private spheres, in particular in the policy making process, legislative action on the national and regional level, and law enforcement activities as well as in the arts, education, culture, science and communication.

The prize is to be awarded to persons, groups of persons, non-governmental, governmental and intergovernmental organizations and institutions for exceptional contributions to, and leadership in, the promotion of tolerance on the European continent and to the fight against the most odious forms of intolerance such as xenophobia, anti-Semitism, aggressive nationalism, political extremism and racially-motivated hate crime.

The prize may also be awarded to the families of outstanding individuals who have lost their lives in the struggle against intolerance.

The prize will be in form of a gold 'European Medal of Tolerance' presented to the recipient as a concrete and lasting token of the award.

The first presentation of the Medal of Tolerance was held on November 11, 2008 in the context of the Week of Tolerance in Europe international public initiative.

The First European medal of tolerance was conferred on October 11, 2010 on the King of Spain Juan Carlos I for his lifelong dedication and devotion to the issue of tolerance and political reconciliation. The second and the third European Medals of Tolerance have been conferred on President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic and Ex-President of Serbia Boris Tadic in Brussels, in recognition of the Balkan statesmen’s “significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maintaining Tolerance and Reconciliation on the European continent”.