Genius, morality, talent and propensity for the common good: these are the “ingredients” at the base of the VII Edition of the High Recognition “Virtù e Conoscenza” Festival, which took place on 17 June 2023 in Porto Cesareo, Lecce (Italy).

The event, promoted by the Association MediterraneaMente together with the municipality of Porto Cesareo and under the patronage of UNIMED – Mediterranean Universities Union, aims to enhance and promote the identity of the territory and its culture in an innovative way, stimulating social cohesion.

Some leading players of the cultural world were rewarded for their meritorious work in Salento area and in the Mediterranean region and, among others, the special prize Mare Nostrum was awarded to Prof. Annick Suzor Weiner, professor emeritus at University Paris-Saclay (France), and advisor of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) where she is in charge of an international programme for refugees students.

This prize is given each year to those who have particularly distinguished themselves in the Mediterranean region, becoming an example of high values ​​to be preserved and handed down to new generations. In particular, prof. Suzor Weiner received the prize “for her high spirit of solidarity, her extraordinary commitment to promoting hospitality, social integration, support, orientation and training of students in exile, preparing them for their professional and working future“.