The jury said of Najat Kaanache “that she empowers women, the mixing of cultures, co-existence, ecology and empowerment; a woman who can represent any other born amid two cultures, which, contrary to making into a weakness, she has used to create an amazing mix to inspire and serve as a role model for other women.”

Some of the prior winners include the Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, writer Mario Vargas Llosa, economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the Association of Terrorism Victims of Spain, the missionary Vicente Ferrer and former Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez. To see a list of all the award winners, click here.

Born in San Sebastián to a Moroccan family, after studying film and theater in London, she decided to pursue an education in cooking and has worked at some of the finest restaurants in the world (Noma, El Bulli, etc.). A researcher and creator of gourmet foods, she came up with the project ‘Six ingredients’ based on the idea that just six ingredients are needed to change the world: our five senses and our own awareness. It is a transformative project for ecology and gourmet cuisine that uses the “Community Guardians” concept which she runs out of her restaurant ‘Nur’ in Fez, Morocco. She hosts the program “Moroccan Cuisine,” which is broadcast on the stations Canal Cocina and El Gourmet in 20 countries across Europe and the Americas. She also recently had her first recipe book published: “Najat” (2021, published by Editorial Planeta). Further information on her website.

Created in 1998 by the Plenary of the City Assembly, it manages the 30,000 euro prize of the same name, which it awards twice a year to “a person or institution from any country whose work has contributed in a relevant and exemplary way to improving human relations, promoting the values of justice, fraternity, peace, freedom, access to culture and equality among men”. The foundation also coordinates a full range of activities to promote dialogue between communities and cultures, intrinsically linked to the daily life of the city.