The President of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), Dr Moshe Kantor, announced today the appointment of renowned French philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy as Ambassador to the organisation.
Mr Lévy’s new role goes along the opening of applications for ECTR’s new Research Grants programme on Secure Tolerance. The initiative was launched at an ECTR roundtable event earlier this year.
Speaking of his new role, Mr Lévy praised the Secure Tolerance concept, which he said was “essential for safeguarding our liberal and open European societies”. “At these uncertain moments in our history, we need to search for all possible ways to maintain freedoms, reinforce liberal values and enhance toleration in our societies,” he added.
Welcoming Mr. Lévy into the ECTR, Dr Moshe Kantor said: “Bernard-Henri Lévy’s willingness to tackle the most substantial challenges confronting European societies, combined with his reputation as one of the world’s most prominent philosophers and public intellectuals, is an invaluable addition to the work of ECTR and its Advisory Board.
Submissions to the research grants programme will also be considered for the €1 million ‘Kantor Prize for Secure Tolerance’. The Kantor Prize will be awarded for original thinking and research on how the theory and practice of tolerance should be re-imagined to meet the new challenges of a globalized world and the highly diverse and sometimes fragmented societies it contains. The selection process will be carried out by ECTR’s Academic Advisory Group, led by John Gray, and including eminent academics and intellectuals such as Antony Beevor, Timothy Snyder and Alexander Dynkin.
About Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy is one of the foremost philosophers, journalists, activists, and filmmakers in France today. Among his dozens of books are American Vertigo, Barbarism with a human face, Who killed Daniel Pearl?, and most recently The Genius of Judaism and The Empire and the Five Kings. His writing has appeared in a wide range of publications throughout Europe and the United States. His films include the documentaries Bosna! and A Day in the Death of Sarajevo, Peshmerga (2016) and The Battle of Mosul (2017). Lévy is co-founder of the antiracist group SOS Racism and has served on diplomatic missions for the French government.
