The third Empress Theophano Prize is focused on Art in intercultural dialogue, and is awarded to the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra co-founder Daniel Barenboim.

Maestro Daniel Barenboim stated, “It is an honour for me to receive this award on behalf of the musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, since it is they who, through their participation in the orchestra, set an example of openness, dialogue and a strong will to listen to the narrative of the “other”. […] The “Divan” musicians show outstanding courage and vision by coming together every year to tirelessly send out a call for dialogue and mutual understanding. It is in this spirit that I am personally very grateful for the recognition of our work through such a symbolic prize as the Empress Theophano Award”.

The Award Ceremony will take place on Tuesday 11 October 2022 in Thessaloniki, at the monument of the Rotunda, a symbol of multiculturalism and the intersection of peoples. Η.Ε. the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will honour the event with their presence and they will address a greeting. 

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble with Michael Barenboim will attend and perform at the ceremony.

Following the themes of Education and Science for the Common Good, and the awarding of the prize to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for the ERASMUS student exchange programme (2020), and the pair of scientists who developed the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Dr Uğur Şahin and Dr Özlem Türeci (2021), this year’s prize aims to highlight the role of Art in intercultural dialogue, in the figure of a legend of music and a great thinker of political and human collaboration, Daniel Barenboim.