São Tomé - The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, is to donate the 30,000 euros from the "José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize" awarded to him by the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), to the Youth Association of Support to Underprivileged Young People (JUCARENTE).
The announcement was made Sunday, in São Tomé and Príncipe, by President João Lourenço after he received the prize during the XIV Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP.
JUCARENTE is an Angolan social solidarity institution that works in Luanda’s municipalities of Cacuaco, Belas and Quissama in favour of social causes.
At the time, João Lourenço said that the award reinforces the responsibility to work for peace, security, development and respect for human rights in the world.
He dedicated the award "to the peoples of the community, for an organisation that is ever more solid, comprehensive, inclusive and determined to overcome the contingencies of a complex world with major challenges to overcome."
The Angolan Head of State thanked the Union of Portuguese-speaking Capital Cities (UCCLA) and the CPLP Consultative Observers for proposing his candidacy to the said prize.
Contribution to the projection of the CPLP
The Angolan Head of State was honoured for his "unique contribution to the international projection of the CPLP, especially the implementation of the Agreement on Mobility among the Member States of the CPLP" and "the creation of the CPLP's new general objective of economic cooperation".
The jury also recognised João Lourenço's commitment to "integrating the principles of representativeness and gender equality into the organisation's statutes" and also praised the Angolan statesman's professional career defending public causes and leading regional processes on the African continent.
Honour by acclamation
The jury’s decision to award the prize to the Angolan statesman was reached by acclamation. The body was made up of the permanent representatives of the nine CPLP member states, who met on 15 May.
The José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize was established in 2011 and every two years it is held to award a diploma of merit and a cash prize, aiming to recognise and honour personalities and institutions.
There are personalities and institutions who are distinguished in defence, valuing and promoting the principles, values and objectives of the CPLP, as well as carrying out studies and research works within this scope.
Candidates for the "José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize" are proposed by the member states, Associate Observers and Consultative Observers of the CPLP.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic (2021), António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (2018), Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal (2016), Carlos Lopes, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Lauro Moreira, Brazilian career diplomat and first Permanent Representative to the CPLP (2016), Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, former President of East Timor (2014), Catholic Church of East Timor - Episcopal Centre of East Timor (2014), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil (2012), are the personalities distinhguished in previous editions.
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