Tonight June 2 the
Tamer Institute for Community Education, working on the West
Bank and Gaza, receive the five milion SEK (approx 460, 000 EUR)
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The Award is presented by H.R.H.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
The Award was
instituted in memory of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, who has
written, amongst other children's books, Pippi Longstocking. It
is presented for the seventh year and has previously been
received by Sonya Hartnett (Australia), Philip Pullman (Great
Britain) and Maurice Sendak (USA) amongst others. It honors
authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and promoters of
reading working in the spirit of Astrid Lindgren.
The 2009 Astrid
Lindgren Memorial Award has been awarded to the Tamer Institute For
Community Education, promoters of reading active on the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip.
The jury's
reasons:
With perseverance, audacity and
resourcefulness, the Tamer Institute has, for two decades,
stimulated Palestinian children's and young adult's love of
reading and their creativity. Under difficult circumstances, the
Institute carries out reading promotion of an unusual breadth
and versatility. In the spirit of Astrid Lindgren, the Tamer
Institute acknowledges the power of words and the strength of
books, stories and imagination as important keys to self-esteem,
tolerance and the courage to face life.
The award will be presented by HRH Crown Princess Victoria on 2
June in the Stockholm Concert Hall in the presence of the
Swedish Minister for Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
The Astrid
Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest prize for
children’s and young people’s literature. The prize totals SEK 5
million (equivalent to approx. USD 578,000, 445,000 EUR) and is
awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors,
illustrators, storytellers and those active in reading promotion
may be rewarded. The prize aims to strengthen and increase
interest in children’s and young people’s literature globally.
The award is designed to strengthen children’s rights at global
level. An expert jury names prize-winners who are nominated by
institutions and organisations worldwide. The Astrid Lindgren
Memorial Award is administered by the Swedish Arts Council.
The Ministry of
Culture honored Tamer Institute for Community Education, under
the auspices of the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salam
Fayyad, in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Culture Mrs.
Tahani Abu Daqqa, and a group of Palestinian politicians,
writers and others interested in children’s literature. The
ceremony included speeches from the Prime Minister, Mrs. Arham
Addamin, the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Tamer
Institute and Mrs. Rinad Qubbaj, the General Director at Tamer
Institute. The ceremony included also poetry readings from two
young men from Yaraat Team: Hareth Rayyan and Mohammad Hamdan,
in addition to many Palestinian songs performed by the “Salam”,
band.
