Writer Amin Maalouf receives the “Co-existence Award” from the City of Ceuta 

At a ceremony held at the Revellín Auditorium Theater in the autonomous city on May 14, the writer emphasized the resounding need for co-existence among cultures and warned about the risks of extremism. The ceremony was attended by Casa Árabe’s General Director, Miguel Moro Aguilar, one of the members of the jury for the award. 

On Thursday, May 14, Amin Maalouf received the twentieth annual “Co-existence Award” in Ceuta for his commitment to a Mediterranean region that promotes understanding, dialogue and respect among cultures. 

Maalouf is a leading figure in the analysis of identity, cultural diversity and dialogue between civilizations, whose work provides an articulate look at the ethical and social challenges of today’s globalized world. 

An indisputable bridge between East and West due to his life journey and literary works, he advocates for the defense of multiple, non-exclusive identities in his thought and writings, providing decisive keys to co-existence among diverse societies. His work is also characterized by his clear analysis of the contemporary challenges faced by the globalized world, including migration and populism. 

In his speech, Maalouf highlighted Ceuta’s role as a “place historically marked by being a crossroads between civilizations” and emphasized the “opportunity” presented by cultural plurality, as well as the risks of fear of the other and identity conflicts in an interconnected world. His speech also left room for hope, remembering the words of Calderón de la Barca: “The worst is not always the truth.” 

The awards ceremony was led by journalist Germinal Castillo and included speeches by the head of the city’s Department of Education and Culture, Pilar Orozco, and the City President, Juan Vivas, who cited the city of Ceuta as an example of co-existence among cultures and religions. The event was also attended by Miguel Moro Aguilar, Casa Árabe’s General Director, as one of the members of this year’s jury. 

Amin Maalouf 
Amin Maalouf (Beirut, 1949) was born into an Arab Christian family and, following a longstanding family tradition, initially devoted his career to journalism, at the Lebanese daily newspaper An Nahar, in some cases as a war correspondent. In 1975, after the Lebanese civil war broke out, Maalouf went into exile in France, where he has lived with his family ever since. With the publication of his essay The Crusades Through Arab Eyes in 1983, he decided to become a writer (mainly of essays and novels). 

Most of Maalouf’s books take place in a historical setting, and in them he combines real facts with fantasy and philosophical concepts. His texts, written with the skill of a true master storyteller, provide a refined, sensitive view of the values and attitudes of different cultures in the Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean world. Maalouf has received the ”Maison de Presse” Award for his novel Samarkand, and the Goncourt Prize for The Rock of Tanios. Both were published in Spanish by the Alianza Editorial publishing firm in 1989 and 1994, respectively, along with the rest of his work: Leo Africanus (1989), The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (1989), The Gardens of Light (1991), The First Century After Beatrice (1993), Ports of Call (Les Échelles du Levant, 1997), In the Name of Identity (1999), Balthasar’s Odyssey (2000), Love from Afar (2002), Origins (2004), Disordered World (2009), The Disoriented (2012), Adrift: How our world lost its way (2019), Our Unexpected Brothers (2020) and The Labyrinth of the Misplaced (2024). His works have been translated into more than twenty languages. 

In 2010, he was bestowed with the Prince of Asturias Prize for Letters, and he is a member of the French Academy, having been named its Secretary in Perpetuity as of 2023. 

The Co-existence Award of the Autonomous City of Ceuta is given to those individuals and institutions from any country whose work has made a significant and exemplary contribution to human relations, promoting the values of justice, fraternity, peace, freedom, access to culture and equality among people. The award consists of a sculpture by Ceuta-based artist Elena Álvarez Laverón and a cash prize of 30,000 euros The members of the jury for this twentieth edition were Miguel Moro Aguilar, the General Director of Casa Árabe; Francisco Javier Vacas, who is responsible for communication at the Sefarad-Israel Center; Salvador del Barrio, Vice Rector of the University of Granada’s Ceuta Campus; Carlos Rontomé, director of the UNED in Ceuta; Moisés Gavizón, representative of the Israeli Community of Ceuta; Miguel Ángel Pérez Castillo, representative of the CECE on the same committee; Miguel Ángel Fernández, secretary of the Co-existence Award Foundation; as well as Pilar Orozco Valverde, president of the entity, who presided over the session for award deliberations. 

Video of the award ceremony