The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has awarded its 2016 Civil Society Prize to five organisations and individuals from across Europe who have demonstrated outstanding examples of solidarity towards refugees and migrants. The first prize went to the Hungarian NGO Artemisio Foundation (14 000 EUR), while the German organisation SOS Mediterrannee, the Greek baker Dionysis Arvanitakis, a branch of the Spanish NGO SOS Racismo and the Greek NGO Iliaktida (Sunbeam) received 9 000 EUR each.
"I am very proud to showcase to the world such moving examples of solidarity on the part of European organisations and individuals who have demonstrated an enormous capacity for empathy, mobilisation and organised action. I also wish to pay tribute to all the myriad organisations and individuals who, sometimes even in the face of a hostile environment or in the hardship of economic crisis, have helped to make the suffering of so many human beings a little more tolerable", said EESC President Dassis.