Menu

Latest Information

2019-11-21

Balzan Prizes 2019 Awarded in Bern

News 24-2019 EN

The German Center for Lung Research (DZL) was honored with the Balzan Prize for exceptional achievements on November 15th in Bern. The prize is worth 750 000 Swiss Francs.

The International Balzan Prize Foundation’s aim is to promote culture, the sciences and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity, peace and fraternity among peoples throughout the world. Currently, four annual awards are made. This year’s prize winners were already announced in September. The DZL was awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of „Pathophysiology of respiration: from basic sciences to the bedside“.

The President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation Marina Carobbio presented the parchments to the 2019 Prizewinners; the Presidents of the Balzan Foundation "Prize" and "Fund", Enrico Decleva and Gisele Girgis-Musy, delivered the official speeches. In accordance with the ceremony’s usual formalities, each Prizewinner gave a speech of acceptance and thanks after being introduced by the Chairman of the General Prize Committee, Luciano Maiani. According to established tradition reflecting the Italo-Swiss nature of the International Balzan Foundation, the Awards Ceremony takes place in alternate years in Rome, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, and in Bern, in the presence of a Representative of the Federal Council or of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation.

The International Balzan Foundation awarded 750,000 Swiss Francs (approx. EUR 680 000; USD 760 000; GBP 620 000) for each prize, a figure which places the Balzan Prize amongst the largest prize funds in the world of Science and Culture. The winners are each required to allocate half of their prize money to funding research projects carried out preferably by young scholars or scientists in their respective fields. The Ceremony was preceded, on Thursday 14 November, by the Balzan Prizewinners Interdisciplinary Forum, a public event dedicated to the Balzan Prize subject areas for the current year, with the Prizewinners playing the prominent role.

Further Information

https://www.balzan.org/de

Balzan Prize 2019 Award Show

Related articles that might also interest you:

To DZL news overview

DZL Engagements

chevron-down