Indonesia: Ban Ki-moon presents award to Sarajevo Centre for Post-Conflict Research

Ahead of the sixth Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, held on 29 and 30 August in Bali, the Alliance and the BMW Group announced the winners of the Award for Intercultural Innovation for 2014. The Centre for Post-Conflict Research (PCRC) from Sarajevo won the first prize for the project "Ordinary Heroes" among eleven finalists, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The award was received by director Velma Šarić and presented by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The prize amount is $40,000.

The project "Ordinary Heroes" is the first project of the Centre for Post-Conflict Research funded by the State Department in 2010. It deals with the specific theme of moral courage and rescue. It tells the story of people, ordinary people who, during war, genocide and conflict, stood up and showed moral courage and saved another person, Šarić previously told NAP.

As Patria previously reported, CPRC was founded in 2010, and its primary goal is to preserve and spread the truth about the events during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as other parts of the world, through contacts with young experts and researchers from reputable universities. They focus on working in local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, primarily with young people, fostering an environment of sustainable peace and facilitating the restoration of inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans using creative multimedia projects and programmes that help strengthen tolerance, moral courage, mutual understanding and positive change.

The conference in Bali will conclude with the publication of the Bali Declaration, which confirms practical steps aimed at encouraging dialogue and understanding, promoting religious tolerance and respect for others, which is also the goal of the Award for Intercultural Innovation, Patria reports.