Modern society faces a lot of challenges and most of the times innocent people become victims of a phenomenon which destroys their dreams and lives.
Next to being affected by factors which turn them into marginalized persons, these people also become victims of extremism. They are not the only ones who suffer because of this.
Extremism is commonly associated with discrimination, because those who are generally affected by it are parts of certain cultures or religions: immigrants, refugees, Jews and others. Although many efforts are made all over the world to stop extremism, unfortunate events happen every day.
In order to combat “isolationism and nationalism”, the European Jewish leader, Moshe Kantor, announced on Tuesday that he is offering a 1 million EURO prize to whoever will promote tolerance and understanding towards other cultures and lifestyles.
What the Kantor Prize for Secure Tolerance is
The Russian-Jewish billionaire announced his initiative on Tuesday, in front of a big assembly at the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation from Monaco. The conference’s main purpose was to bring together specialists from 22 countries for identifying solutions to prevent radicalization in Europe.
The Kantor Prize for Secure Tolerance aims to reward people who will promote this lifestyle among Europeans. Those who are willing to start the quest towards the prize have to address the Europeans’ main concern: the idea that immigration and other modern processes can compromise their security, rights as European citizens and life. The competition will support creative thinking and applying ideas on how tolerance can stand against modern challenges and support the coexistence of diverse societies in today’s globalized world.
Moshe Kantor, who is the president of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, also presides the European Jewish Congress. He is one of the richest persons in Russia, leading Acron Group, a company that produces and distributes mineral fertilizer. From these positions, he can promote and support his initiative, giving citizens the opportunity to find out about it and start competing.
The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared in a press release announcing the prize that it is essential to keep fighting extremism, otherwise it will become generally accepted. In fact, its results can be noticed in the hate speech trend, an important part of the world’s public discourse.
He also declared that different people can live in peace and harmony together as long as they respect each other’s rights and freedoms. Also, people should be able to express what they think in online and offline environment, as long as they don’t make others feel worried about their safety.
Moshe Kantor, the prize initiator, said that many Europeans are worried about the fact that technology and society are changing fast and they might not be able to keep up. This is what inspired him to offer them the possibility to start building a new society, safer, more secure, tolerant and open for diversity and positive changes.
