Valletta is the recipient of this year’s ‘Melina Merkouri International’ prize, in recognition of the work carried out by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.
Established by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture of Greece in honour of the artist and former Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mekcouri, the prize has been awarded every two years since 1999 to reward efforts to preserve and enhance cultural landscapes, specifically those fashioned mainly or not by human hands.
The announcement is yet to be made official, but decision was made in Brussels, as part of the European Capitals of Culture panel’s final assessment of the preparations and progress of the Valetta 2018 Foundations towards Valletta being the European Capital of Culture in 2018. Merkouri was instrumental in the conception and launch of the Europeean culture capital initiative in 1983 and this year’s prize is a way to ackknowledge the effort of ‘Valletta 2018’ in highlighting the richness and cultural diversity of the city. The prize comes with a €1 million cash grant which will alllow for the Foundation to further pursue its ongoing economic and social regenerations and its strong cultural programme.