On Friday 28 May 2021, peace activists from around the world will gather for the 9th Annual Luxembourg Peace Prize ceremony; originally scheduled to take place in May 2020, this edition had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organised by the World Peace Forum, the 2020/2021 Luxembourg Peace Prize ceremony will take place as part of the 5th Annual Transatlantic Dialogue conference at the University of Luxembourg in Esch-Belval. It will also be shared online.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum will be awarding the prestigious Luxembourg Peace Prize to outstanding peacemakers and activists in Luxembourg. The award comes in alignment with the efforts of the Schengen Peace Foundation, founded in 2005, and approved in 2007 by His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri, as a Peace---Think---Tank, supporting peace building. In 2012, the Luxembourg Peace Prize was first introduced as an award to outstanding peacemakers.

The distinguished peacemakers represent a diverse mix of activists, educators, leaders and artists from all corners of the globe in ten categories.

Luxembourg Peace Prize Laureates of 2020/21 

- OUTSTANDING PEACE ACTIVIST: Dr Scilla Elworthy, a peace builder who has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for developing effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics, with the Oxford Research Group which she founded in 1982. 

- OUTSTANDING PEACE ACTIVIST: Dr William Vendley, Secretary General Emeritus of Religions for Peace International, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace by working to advance multi-religious consensus on positive aspects of peace as well as concrete actions to stop war, help eliminate extreme poverty and protect the earth. 

- OUTSTANDING PEACE EDUCATION: The Transatlantic Dialogue conference series on global citizens, which has taken place in Luxembourg since 2008 as a collaborative effort between the University of Luxembourg and Miami University in Ohio. The series explores the significance of culture and liberal education for fostering global citizenship from both the United States and European perspectives.

- OUTSTANDING PEACE ORGANISATION: Words Heal the World, a non-profit organisation set up by a Brazilian young woman to empower undergraduate students to challenge online hate speech and tackle different types of extremism. 

- OUTSTANDING PEACE TECHNOLOGY: Libby Liu, who was at the helm of Radio Free Asia (RFA) for sixteen years, a non-profit created to provide accurate, timely news to citizens living in closed societies through Asia. She also founded (in 2019) and headed (until 2020) the private non-profit Open Technology Fund (OTF), before taking over as CEO of Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping whistleblowers safely protect the public.

- OUTSTANDING PEACE SUPPORT: A Land for All - Two States, One Homeland, a joint Israeli-Palestinian movement, co-founded in 2012 by Israeli and Palestinian thinkers, geographers, lawyers and agents of change. Born out of a series of meetings, the movement's vision is that two nations live in one land and both want to live peacefully and safely. Solutions entailing separation have failed in the past. However, cooperation succeeds. 

- OUTSTANDING PEACE JOURNALISM: Steve Youngblood, a Kansas City (USA) area professor and Director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism and Associate Professor of Communications at Park University (Parkville, Missouri). He has taught peace journalism in 27 countries and territories worldwide, including conflict areas, and is the editor of the semi-annual "Peace Journalist" magazine, author of the university textbook Peace Journalism Principles and Practices and writer of the Peace "Journalism Insights" blog.

- OUTSTANDING YOUTH PEACEMAKER: Boniface Mwangi, a renowned Kenyan photographer who could not resist the call to activism after witnessing first-hand the brutality that disadvantaged Kenyans experienced in the wake of the post-election violence of January 2008. He established Picha Mtaani, a travelling photography exhibition showcasing images of the violence. 

- OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE: Water Peace Security (WPS), a partnership founded in 2018 to pioneer the development of innovative tools and services that help identify and address water-related security risks. 

- OUTSTANDING ART FOR PEACE: Pedro Reyes, a Mexican artist whose works aim to increase individual or collective agency in social, environmental, political or educational situations. He has won international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. 

- OUTSTANDING INNER PEACE: Healing and Positive Energy Globally. During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, people from around the world are helping with inner peace, sharing their healing and positive energy online. 

Registration for the 2020/2021 Luxembourg Peace Prize ceremony is available online at www.LuxembourgPeacePrize.org.