Terre des hommes wins CHF1 million humanitarian award
The prestigious Balzan prize-winners have been announced for 2018, with the Swiss Terre des hommes foundation winning a special award for humanity, peace, and fraternity among peoples.
The awards, administered by the Milan- and Zurich-based Balzan Prize FoundationExternal link, offer prizes in the arts, sciences, and humanitarian fields in memory of Eugenio Balzan – the anti-fascist Italian journalist exiled in Switzerland during the Second World War.
Along with the annual prizes, a special award for humanity, peace and fraternity is also offered every few years: this year, the winner was Swiss-based Terre des hommesExternal link (Tdh) group.
Tdh, which works to promote and defend children’s rights, was awarded the CHF1 million ($1,027,700) prize notably for a project undertaken in the Ségou region of Mali, where it trains locals to care for new-born babies and their mothers.
Previous winners of the periodically-awarded humanitarian prize include Mother Theresa and French homeless advocate Abbé Pierre.
The other annual prizes, each with a winning packet of CHF750,000 (part of which must be dedicated to future research projects) were awarded to four researchers: Marilyn Strathern (social anthropology); Jürgen Osterhammel (world history); Detlef Lohse (fluid dynamics); and Eva Kondorsi (chemical ecology).
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Switzerland to increase aid partnerships with private sector
This content was published on
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) plans to double the number of partnerships with the private sector in the next two years.
Swiss humanitarian aid unit: rapid response experts for crisis zones
This content was published on
Whether it is water specialists or mediators, Switzerland has some 700 experts who can be deployed in humanitarian crises all over the world.
UN body nominee decries child abuse in Switzerland
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch meets the psychologist Switzerland is proposing for the monitoring body of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.