The Tipperary Peace Convention has selected four nominees for the shortlist for the 2023 Tipperary International Peace Award. The selections were announced at the Reflections for Christmas event held in St Mary’s Church Tipperary town last week.
The four nominees are Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian Human Rights lawyer and civil society leader based in Kyiv. Ms Matviichuk heads the Centre for Civil Liberties and is a campaigner for democratic reforms in Ukraine and the OSCE region comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Hassan Sheik Mohamud is the current President of Somalia – elected in May 2022, he is one of the few leaders who stayed in Somalia throughout the 30-year Civil War. Pashtana Durrani, is an Afghan Human Rights activist focused on girls and women’s access to education. She was born in a refugee camp in Pakistan and subsequently returned to Afghanistan. Médecins sans frontiers (Doctors without Borders) is the fourth shortlisted nominee – the charity provides humanitarian medical care. The organisation, established in 1971, is of French origin and is known for it’s work in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases.
The winner of the 2023 Tipperary International Peace Award will be announced in January with the winner invited to Tipperary town for the prize giving ceremony later in 2024. Previous winners have included former Presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, South African President Nelson Mandela, Pakistani school girl Malala Yousafzai and the former Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos.
