THE HAGUE, 16 November 2021 — OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Kairat Abdrakhmanov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Ben Knapen will present the 2020 Max van der Stoel Award to Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre from Ireland. The award ceremony will take place in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Friday, 19 November.

The 2020 Award Ceremony was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Pavee Point was selected as the winner of the award for its continued efforts to strengthen the genuine integration of Ireland’s society by advocating for and protecting the rights of the Traveller and Roma communities.

Pavee Point seeks to celebrate the cultures and traditions of Traveller and Roma communities in an inclusive manner by advocating for participation, social justice and genuine equality at the regional, national and international levels. Pavee Point supports the integration of Ireland’s diverse society through education and healthcare initiatives, and works to combat violence against women and support participation in programmes that bridge economic and societal inequalities.

The Max van der Stoel Award — a prize of €50,000 — has been co-sponsored by the HCNM and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs every two years since 2003. It is presented to a person, group or institution in recognition of their extraordinary and outstanding achievements in improving the position of national minorities across the OSCE countries.

Other event material can be found here.

Pavee Point Chairperson, Anastasia Crickley; Pavee Point Co-Director, Martin Collins; current and former OSCE High Commissioners Kairat Abdrakhmanov and Lamberto Zannier; OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid; Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Director Matteo Mecacci; Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Ireland, Roderic O’Gorman; and General Director of the Carnegie Foundation — Peace Palace, Erik de Baedts will address the event. The full event programme is available here.

The event is by invitation only. Media representatives who wish to attend the in-person event at the Peace Palace in The Hague on 19 November 2021 starting at 15:00 should send their name, contact details and the name of the media organization they represent to Michelle Pirotta, michelle.pirotta@osce.org, before 17 November.