On Monday, 25 November 2013, Ambassador and Maestro Charles
AZNAVOUR personally awarded The Charles Aznavour Prize for Outstanding
Achievements in Fostering Europe-Armenian Friendship to Baroness Caroline COX.
The prize was created by the Brussels-based NGO European Friends of Armenia
(www.EuFoA.org) and the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council (EAAC, www.EAAC.EuFoA.org).
The EAAC chose Baroness Caroline Cox as the first recipient
of the prize during its General Assembly in Yerevan on 16 February 2013. With
this, it rewards the Baroness' lifetime merits in supporting Europe-Armenian
relations. The widely recognised merits of the Baroness reach beyond political
party lines and put a strong accent on human rights. EAAC Members Ambassador
Hans-Jochen SCHMIDT and MP René ROUQUET as well as members of Geneva's
international institutions and the Armenian Diaspora attended the ceremony in
the Club Suisse de la Presse in Geneva. For EuFoA Secretary General Dr Michael
KAMBECK, this was his last public appearance in this function before handing
over the NGO's leadership to Eduardo LORENZO OCHOA and Hovhannes GRIGORYAN.
The Prize, which is remunerated with 5000 Euros, seeks to
raise awareness of Armenia in Europe, to encourage and inspire other
initiatives towards building bridges between Europe and Armenia, to honour
achievements in developing Europe-Armenian relations, and to demonstrate the
importance of good relations between Armenia and Europe.
QUOTATIONS:
Ambassador and Maestro Charles AZNAVOUR:
"I never take the floor for whatever speech, because I
cannot do it, not in French, not in Armenian, not in English. I am here today
simply because I already find this NGO wonderful for us Armenians. Because even
though I am French with Armenian roots, when I go there, to Armenia, I become
Armenian again.
When people ask me if I feel more Armenian than French, I answer
that I am a milk coffee. There is no way to separate the milk from the coffee!
For me, this [prize] is a wonderful idea. With all that she
[Baroness Cox] puts on her shoulders to help us, Armenians and Armenia, to give
her this prize which, well, bears my name on it - absolutely by chance, but I
have accepted - I am delighted to congratulate her and to award this trophy to
Baroness Cox! Voilà, I managed to say all this."
Baroness Caroline COX:
"I want to say with all my heart a very big thank you
to European Friends of Armenia! It is a double honour and double joy to be the
first to receive this award, and from such an internationally known, loved and
admired Maestro.
I want to say thank you for an award which is given by the
people [the Armenian people] for whom I have unbounded love and respect beyond
words.
Armenians do not only survive. You create beauty from the
ashes of destruction all over the place and that is especially wonderful.
That's the spirit of Armenia: In peace, you create beauty from the ashes of
destruction, and healing, far beyond your little land. And that's one of the
reasons, again, why I love Armenia and I'm so thrilled to be honoured
tonight."
EuFoA Secretary General Dr Michael KAMBECK:
"Today is also for me personally a very important day,
because it's my last public appearance as Secretary General of European Friends
of Armenia. I will hand over at the end of the year to my colleagues Eduardo
and Hovhannes, before moving to my family in Germany next year.
The Europe-Armenia Advisory Council was the first idea of
European Friends of Armenia, when we created it around five years ago. This
council by now has more than 20 members from all across the European Union and
from different political affiliations, geography,... we really wanted to spread
it. The idea of the prize has been the second idea, after the idea of creating
the council. And I am very happy that this second of these two ideas can now
still come to a conclusion while I am in charge of the NGO. In this sense I am
personally very happy that we are here today for this prize and I really hope
that it will do what we intended: That it will shine a bit into the world and
that it encourages people that, yes, it is worth doing something for the
relations between Armenia and Europe!"
Ambassador Hans-Jochen SCHMIDT:
"You Baroness Cox, symbolise outstanding courage to
help people in need and sustainable aid projects. With great interest, as
Ambassador of Germany to Armenia, I followed your electoral observer mission,
dedicated to the promotion of the civil society and particularly laying an
emphasis on the development of the freedom of assembly.
I thank you, Charles Aznavour and Caroline Cox, for creating
interest in this country [Armenia] in need of political support."
For more information about the Prize and the full press
information kit, please click here.
Please find below a couple of pictures from the event:
Images from the First Awarding Ceremony for the Charles
Aznavour Prize
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