On 26th of April, in Marinella Hotel in Sofia, the representatives of BRIDGES - Angelina Vladikova, Peter Gramatikov, Silvia Trifonova, together with Andrey Yordanov and Nona Kuteva, accepted the first place award. The ceremony took place in an extremely close circle - with the host Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan H.E. Mutaz Khasawneh and the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria H.E. Andrea Ikić-Böhm, partner and friend of the Association.
His Royal Highness Prince Boris Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the guardian of the Bulgarian crown, personally presented the first prize for interfaith harmony to BRIDGES-Eastern European forum for Dialogue on the occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW). The award is given because of the success of the art-performance "Gift of Love" organized by the association.
The award, besides being a first for Bulgaria, is also a first for Europe - no European country has ever won this prestigious first award for peace, tolerance and harmony.
His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan is the initiator and organizer of the WIHW. Since 2011 UN officially celebrates it every February.
The award ceremony began with the presentation of a gold medal and a certificate. Then continued with words of gratitude from the chair of the organization and the Ambassador of Austria. Prince Boris of Tarnovo was impressed by the award-winning event and the team, showing it through symbolic gifts he personally gave to the chair of BRIDGES Mrs. Angelina Vladikova. As a small token of our profound appreciation Bridges send back a symbolic gift to Her Majesty Queen Rania: original Bulgarian rose oil, a quintessential symbol of Bulgarian rich heritage and a handcrafted Bulgarian flag.
After the award ceremony, the team had the opportunity to talk informally with Prince Boris and the ambassadors. The Bulgarian Crown Prince was more than inspired and showed his willingness to get involved in future Bridges projects.
The first prize-winning performance on the occasion of the UN Tolerance Week, "Gift of Love", took place on 9 February in the Episcopal Basilica of. The event took place on the 9th of February, Plovdiv. This is when the UN has designated as Interfaith Tolerance Week. The Bridges Association brought together 56 children from different religious traditions, who through the language of art - beautiful songs, captivating dances and poems and even an exhibition - conveyed their message of peace and love between people regardless of differences.
