The Lord Byron Prize 2025 to Mr. Alain Berset, in his first official visit to Greece
Mr. Alain Berset, Secretary General of the 46-member Council of Europe, during his first official visit to Greece was awarded the international Lord Byron Prize 2025 for Philhellenism, opening his speech in the Greek language, wishing to underline its importance to the civilisation worldwide.
Mr. Berset delivered an inspiring speech in Greek, honouring the coincidence that his first official visit to Greece and the day he received the Philhellenism Lord Byron Prize coincided with the day that the Greek language was recognised as the foundation of universal culture by UNESCO and was celebrated the first anniversary of the “International Greek Language Day”.
The donation of the Lord Byron Prize grant to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society
The honoree, who served as President of the Swiss Confederation twice (2018 and 2023), highlighted the cultivation of a European security environment as a priority for Europe, while his desire to offer the grant accompanying the Lord Byron Prize to the Ukrainian Red Cross evoke sympathy and emotion.
During his speech, he referred to our common challenges at the European level, such as accountability for Ukraine, judicial independence, the fight against corruption, and migration in full compliance with European human rights obligations.
The presentation of the International Lord Byron Philhellenism Prize institution was made by the President of the Academy of Athens, Mr. Nikiforos Diamandouros, and was followed by the presentation of the medal and diploma by the President of the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism (SHP) and the Philhellenism Museum, Mr. Constantinos Velentzas.
Mr. Constantinos Velentzas referred to the core values of Greek culture on which civilized humanity is based, and to Lord Byron whose figure highlighted Philhellenism. He called attention to Mr. Berset’ s work in support of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, referring to “The New Democratic Pact for Europe”, to address the decline of democracy, misinformation and the ethical regulation of Artificial Intelligence, and to promote environmental protection as a fundamental human right.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic and the Government, the Minister of Justice Mr. George Floridis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Haris Theocharis, the President of the Plenary of the Council of Europe Mr. Theodoros Roussopoulos, representative of His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos II, representatives of the Anglican Church, representatives of the leadership of the Armed Forces, the Ambassadors of Switzerland, Sweden, Slovakia, Cyprus, Belgium, the chargé d’affaires of the embassies of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Azerbaijan, representatives of local government, Academicians, university professors, businessmen and a vast number of people.
The Lord Byron Award was presented at an event co-organized by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Law School and the Hellenic Society of International Law and International Relations (HSLIR).
Information:
SOCIETY FOR HELLENISM AND PHILHELLENISM (SHP) | PHILHELLENISM MUSEUM
12, Zissimopoulou str., Athens 11524 GREECE
Τ. +30 2108094750
www.eefshp.org | www.phmus.org
