The Choir was awarded by:
1. The Stelios Hadjioannou Foundation (2 times)
2. Hiroshima Foundation based in Stockholm
3. The Cyprus Peace Center
4. PEO & DEV-IS
5. Municipality of Deryneia
6. Movement of Ecologists / Environmentalists
7. New Cypriot Association
8. The Association of Social Reform (OPEK)
1. The Stelios Hadjioannou Foundation (2 times)
2. Hiroshima Foundation based in Stockholm
3. The Cyprus Peace Center
4. PEO & DEV-IS
5. Municipality of Deryneia
6. Movement of Ecologists / Environmentalists
7. New Cypriot Association
8. The Association of Social Reform (OPEK)
Pioneering Creation Award "Yiannos Kranidiotis" for 2022
The Association of Social Reform (OPEK), honor the Bi_communal Choir for Peace - Lena Melandiou for all its action, and Lena Melanidou, who left so unexpectedly, with the Pioneering Creation Award "YIANNOS KRANIDIOTIS".
Award Rationale by Larkos Larkou, Chairman of the Award Committee
"The Bicommunal Choir shows with notes that music can become a unifying process.
It cultivates memory. Builds bridges. It brings the two communities closer. Contributes to the effort for the best knowledge of the Cypriot identity.
In a difficult situation, the value of the action of the Bicommunal Choir becomes even greater.
It insists. It sings. It educates.
The conductor who left, Lena Melanidou, gave all her talent to the Choir. It became one with her.
That is why she is happy today that all of us here, remember her and honor her as a great Cypriot.
Cyprus needs people like Lena Melanidou to work for the whole of Cyprus.
Like Lena and Niazi, like Takis and Ali, like Lellos and Mustafa.
This is how we meet the thought of Yiannos Kranidiotis: to utilize the "diplomacy of interconnections ".
To work towards making the European Union the catalyst for a solution.
For the whole of Cyprus to participate in the European family.
To work for the universal values of freedom, justice and equality throughout our island.
The Bicommunal Choir is here.
Active, Ready to struggle, Cypriot!
Today in Nicosia, June 22, 2022, the "Yiannos Kranidiotis" Award for Pioneering Creation for 2022 to the "Bicommunal Choir for Peace - Lena Melanidou".
From the Award Committee
"The Bicommunal Choir shows with notes that music can become a unifying process.
It cultivates memory. Builds bridges. It brings the two communities closer. Contributes to the effort for the best knowledge of the Cypriot identity.
In a difficult situation, the value of the action of the Bicommunal Choir becomes even greater.
It insists. It sings. It educates.
The conductor who left, Lena Melanidou, gave all her talent to the Choir. It became one with her.
That is why she is happy today that all of us here, remember her and honor her as a great Cypriot.
Cyprus needs people like Lena Melanidou to work for the whole of Cyprus.
Like Lena and Niazi, like Takis and Ali, like Lellos and Mustafa.
This is how we meet the thought of Yiannos Kranidiotis: to utilize the "diplomacy of interconnections ".
To work towards making the European Union the catalyst for a solution.
For the whole of Cyprus to participate in the European family.
To work for the universal values of freedom, justice and equality throughout our island.
The Bicommunal Choir is here.
Active, Ready to struggle, Cypriot!
Today in Nicosia, June 22, 2022, the "Yiannos Kranidiotis" Award for Pioneering Creation for 2022 to the "Bicommunal Choir for Peace - Lena Melanidou".
From the Award Committee
Stelios Philanthropic Foundation bi-communal award
Award from Hiroshima Foundation for Peace & Culture
International Recognition of the Bicommunal Choir for Peace-Lena Melanidou
Edita and Ira Morris Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture decided to award the 2020 prize to the Bicommunal Choir for Peace-Lena Melanidou and its conductors Lena Melanidou and Kürşat Tilki. The Choir Award was to be presented in Stockholm on 13 May 2020 as part of the Peace Forum organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). However, due to the pandemic, the ceremony was postponed for later. When the Association of Cypriots living in Sweden invited the Choir to the "Cyprus Day" event in April 2022, it was decided to award the Peace Prize on the same day. The ceremony took place in Stockholm on April 2, 2022, two years late. The Greek Cypriot conductor Lena Melanidou, who had worked hard to prepare the Choir for the concert in Stockholm, unfortunately died of a sudden illness in December 2021 ...
The Choir gave a wonderful concert at the event for the “Cyprus Day”. Specifically, amid tears and applause, the songs "Hiroshima I am sorry", "Kardeşim (Brother) George/Brother Mehmet" and "Homeland/Which of the two halves should I love?" were heard. At the ceremony, the head of the institution, Professor Daniel Tarschys, presented the award to the Turkish Cypriot conductor Kürşat Tilki. The Choir also sang in two outdoor concerts and at the reception given after the visit to the Medelhavs Middle East Museum (where many Cypriot antiquities are exhibited). The whole visit was organized by the Hiroshima Peace Foundation. The event was also attended by Swedish officials from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN officials who had served in Cyprus, George Frangos and Emin Akkor (presidents of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot journalists' organizations). In their short addresses to the audients, the two presidents of the journalists' organizations of Cyprus praised the work that has been performed by the Bicommunal Choir for the last 25 years.
The Hiroshima Foundation was founded in 1989 after a legacy from the Swedish writer Edita Morris (1902-1988), who married the American writer Ira Morris (1903-1972). It's named after Edita Morris's famous novel The Flower of Hiroshima, which describes the hardships caused by the atomic bomb. The son of Edita and Ira Morris, Ivan Morris (1925–1976), was a professor of Japanese studies and one of the first translators sent to Hiroshima after the bombing. The Foundation awards prizes to women and men who contribute to the development of dialogue, understanding and peace in the cultural sector and in conflict areas. The prize is usually awarded every two years.
Edita and Ira Morris Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture decided to award the 2020 prize to the Bicommunal Choir for Peace-Lena Melanidou and its conductors Lena Melanidou and Kürşat Tilki. The Choir Award was to be presented in Stockholm on 13 May 2020 as part of the Peace Forum organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). However, due to the pandemic, the ceremony was postponed for later. When the Association of Cypriots living in Sweden invited the Choir to the "Cyprus Day" event in April 2022, it was decided to award the Peace Prize on the same day. The ceremony took place in Stockholm on April 2, 2022, two years late. The Greek Cypriot conductor Lena Melanidou, who had worked hard to prepare the Choir for the concert in Stockholm, unfortunately died of a sudden illness in December 2021 ...
The Choir gave a wonderful concert at the event for the “Cyprus Day”. Specifically, amid tears and applause, the songs "Hiroshima I am sorry", "Kardeşim (Brother) George/Brother Mehmet" and "Homeland/Which of the two halves should I love?" were heard. At the ceremony, the head of the institution, Professor Daniel Tarschys, presented the award to the Turkish Cypriot conductor Kürşat Tilki. The Choir also sang in two outdoor concerts and at the reception given after the visit to the Medelhavs Middle East Museum (where many Cypriot antiquities are exhibited). The whole visit was organized by the Hiroshima Peace Foundation. The event was also attended by Swedish officials from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN officials who had served in Cyprus, George Frangos and Emin Akkor (presidents of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot journalists' organizations). In their short addresses to the audients, the two presidents of the journalists' organizations of Cyprus praised the work that has been performed by the Bicommunal Choir for the last 25 years.
The Hiroshima Foundation was founded in 1989 after a legacy from the Swedish writer Edita Morris (1902-1988), who married the American writer Ira Morris (1903-1972). It's named after Edita Morris's famous novel The Flower of Hiroshima, which describes the hardships caused by the atomic bomb. The son of Edita and Ira Morris, Ivan Morris (1925–1976), was a professor of Japanese studies and one of the first translators sent to Hiroshima after the bombing. The Foundation awards prizes to women and men who contribute to the development of dialogue, understanding and peace in the cultural sector and in conflict areas. The prize is usually awarded every two years.
An excerpt from the afternoon weekly programme of RIK1 TV "Cypriots of the world" on June 24, 2022 which shows the recent visit of the "Bicommunal Choir for Peace in Cyprus- Lena Melanidou" in Sweden.
Press release 1 Febr. 2020
The 2020 Hiroshima Prize awarded to the Bi-Communal Choir for Peace in Cyprus
The Edita and Ira Morris Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture has decided to award its prize for 2020 to the Bi-Communal Choir for Peace in Cyprus. The Bi-communal Choir for Peace in Cyprus was established in May 1997, after an initiative of the Bi-communal Citizens’ Group for Peace in Cyprus. The members are citizens of the two communities, Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots, who share a common vision and believe in the unity of the two communities through music. Its two conductors are Lena Melanidou and Kursat Tilki. Lena Melanidou is also co-conductor of the Inter-Communal Children’s Choir with Imge Arabi, for children aged 7–11. The Prize amounting to 80.000 CHF will be awarded on 13 May 2020, within the framework of the Peace Forum organised by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
The Hiroshima Foundation was created in 1989 following a bequest by the Swedish author Edita Morris (1902-1988) who was married to the American author Ira Morris (1903–1972). It is named after Edita Morris’ most famous novel The Flowers of Hiroshima which describes the suffering caused by the atomic bomb. Edita and Ira Morris’ son Ivan Morris (1925–1976) was professor in Japanology and one of the first interpreters sent into Hiroshima after the explosion of the bomb.
The Foundation presents awards to women and men who contribute, in a cultural field, to fostering dialogue, understanding and peace in conflict areas. The award is normally presented every second year, but intervals vary. The 2018 prize was awarded to Mike van Graan, a South-African born playwright and cultural activist for his contribution to the fight against apartheid, to building a post-apartheid society and to the study of the interface between peace and culture both in his home country and across the African continent. The 2015 prize was awarded to Professor Anatoli Mikhailov, founder and rector of the European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 2014 prizes were given to the Canadian General and Senator Roméo Dallaire and the dancer and choreographer Kettly Noël. The 2010 prize was awarded to the British documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto. In 2008 the award was presented to the principals of two schools in Sri Lanka in recognition of their efforts to foster mutual understanding for Tamil and Sinhalese culture. The 2006 prize was given to Elena Nemirovskaya, Director and founder of the Moscow School of Political Studies. In 2004 the prize was awarded to Borka Pavićević, founder of the Centre for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade, with additional prizes to Biljana Srbljanović and Jasmina Tesanović, Serbian authors and peace activists. Further information on the Foundation, including a biography of Edita Morris and a full list of recipients of previous awards, can be found on the Foundation's website http://www.hiroshimafoundation.net .
The Board of the Foundation is composed of Professor Daniel Tarschys, chairman, Suzanne Osten, Thomas Ouchterlony, Carolyn Ouchterlony, Chandras Rajakaruna, Sara Gidlund, Elisabeth Toll and Hans Christopher Toll.