The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, first awarded in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoly Marchenko, is the European Union’s (EU) highest award bestows on human rights efforts. It is attributed to individuals, groups and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the protection of freedom of thought.
This year, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will deliver the Award to the Ukrainian people in Strasbourg on December 14 for the courage shown in the last year following the Russian aggression.
With the nomination for the Prize, the efforts of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are highlighted, together with the role of individuals, representatives of civil society and state and public institutions, including the Ukrainian State Emergency Services, Yulia Pajevska, founder of the Taira Angels Medical Evacuation Unit, Oleksandra Matviychuk, Human Rights Lawyer and President of the Center for Civil Liberties organization, the Yellow Ribbon Civil Resistance Movement, and Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, currently under Russian occupation.
On the occasion of the awarding of the 2022 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought to the courageous Ukrainian people, the European Parliament Office in Italy is organizing a meeting with students on 14 December 2022, from 9.45 to 12.30. The event will take place in the chapter house of the cloister of the convent of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, at the Senate of the Republic, and in connection with the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The event will be moderated by Maria Rita Grieco, deputy director of Tg2, and will open at 9.45 with the greeting address of the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa and a video message from the director of the Republic Maurizio Molinari. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani will open the meeting and will also answer questions from the students.