BUSEK AWARD
Dr. Ehrard Busek (1941-2022)
Chairman of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe
Former Vice-Chancellor of Austria
Former Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs of Austria
Member of SEEMO BOARD OF ADVISORS
Dr. Erhard Busek SEEMO Award for Better Understanding
The Dr. Erhard Busek SEEMO Award for Better Understanding was established in November 2001 by Dr. Erhard Busek and Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General, following an initiative by Vujovic, which Dr. Busek decided to support.
Dr. Erhard Busek – former vice-chancellor of Austria, Jean Monet professor ad personam, president of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, coordinator of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), and former special coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe — agreed to provide financial support for this new annual journalism award.
The award aims to recognize journalists who promote better understanding, tolerance, and better communication in the SEEMO region, whether within their own country or across borders. The award should be a voice against war and conflicts and a signal for democracy. The SEEMO Board decided that the award would bear the name Dr. Erhard Busek as an integral part of its title. The first award was presented in 2002 under the official name Dr. Erhard Busek SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South East and Central Europe.
Dr. Busek personally financed the monetary prize, as well as the costs related to the award announcement, jury work, presentation ceremony, and travel and accommodation expenses of the award winner.
Dr. Busek expressed great satisfaction that the award carried his name and supported democratic media development in the SEEMO region. As Dr. Busek noted: “This award ensures that my ideas will continue to inspire future generations, even long after I am no longer active.”