Director Panikos Chrysanthou and poet Nese Yasin received Friday the European Citizen’s Prize 2021 for their cooperation which led to documentaries ‘’Our Wall’’ and “My Homeland”.
The award ceremony was held at the Home for Cooperation in the buffer zone in Nicosia and the two artists spoke with words of passion and love about their common land and their struggle for reunification.
Yiasin in her speech said that both her and Panikos are two people who were hurt from the past and fight for the future. She said that they were born in different sides of the divide but in their hearts they have their common home, the whole of the island. She said that they both search for the truth and they want to make a reality what politicians failed to do for decades.
Yasin said that she receives this award in the name of so many pacifists who fight for coexistence. She said that hope exists in the hands that are extended genuinely and not in tight fists.
She said that Panikos and herself will keep on writing and making movies and called on people to let the heartbeats be heard and to silence the sounds of guns.
Panikos Chrysanthou said that pain has no nationality and that in conflicts and wars people hurt the same. He said that this award is an appreciation for his work and gives him courage for all the bullying and hostility he felt.
He said that both him and Nese fight for freedom of speech and freedom to utter different words than those who monopolise patriotism. He said that art means humanism and beauty is the art and said that Nese and himself tried to show empathy, to speak about pain in each side and to show that people could be victims and perpetrators at different times and under different circumstances.
Panikos also said that fanaticism, hate and intolerance make people go blind.
Head of the office of the European parliament Andreas Kettis said that today we honour two people who fought for the conditions for peaceful coexistence and reunification. He said that the European Citizen’s Award is one of the most emblematic actions of the EP.
Kettis said that the two winners will travel to Brussels soon along with the winner of the prize last year, actor Costas Vichas.
MEP Niyazi Kızılyürek who proposed the two for the award, a proposal that was endorsed by all Cypriot MEPs said that it is hard for him to speak about his good friends Panikos and Nese adding that they represented peace and coexistence. He said that Nese speaks about peace through her poems and Panikos is the representative of the Cyprus cinematography.
He compared both to the intellectuals in France and Germany who brought people together and hoped they also manage to bring the people of Cyprus together.
MEP Yiorgos Georgiou spoke of his strong feelings when he heard Nese reading her poem ‘’My homeland’’ and also how he felt when he watched Panikos’ documentary. He said that these two have struggled early on to pass messages of love for the people and our land.
Each year, the European Parliament awards `The European Citizen`s Prize`. This prize is an award for exceptional achievements in the following areas:Projects promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between citizens of the Member States or facilitating cross-border or transnational cooperation within the European Union.Projects involving long-term, cross-border or transnational cultural cooperation contributing to the strengthening of a European spirit.Projects linked to the current European Year (if applicable).Projects giving concrete expression to the values enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.Citizens, groups of citizens, associations or organisations can apply for the European Citizen’s Prize for projects they have carried out, or can nominate one other citizen, group, association or organisation for the European Citizen’s Prize.
Members of the European Parliament have the right to submit nominations – one per Member each year.