According to the foundation, the 2019 Calouste Gulbenkian Prize is to be awarded on Friday to Maalouf, “recognised as one of the most influential and respected names in the Arab world” and which was chosen by a jury chaired by Portugal’s former president, Jorge Sampaio.

Maalouf “has been a restless builder of bridges, looking to show the path of the reforms necessary to build a world in peace, according to a fairer and more sustainable way of life,” Gulbenkian said.

The prize is to be awarded by the country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian.

The 2019 Gulbenkian Awards, worth €50,000 each, will be handed to APAV – the Portuguese Victim Support Association (in the area of Cohesion), to the radio programme ’90 Seconds of Science’ (area of Knowledge) and Teatro Metaphora – Association of Friends of the Arts (area of Sustainability).

In a statement distributed by the foundation, the jury recognised the "excellent results" obtained by APAV, which has supported an increasing number of victims of crime since 1990, in a universe estimated at 270,000 people.

APAV supports, on average, 115 adults per week and its intervention is essential in the recovery and return of victims to the daily routine, through personalised and qualified service, evaluating each case as unique.

The '90 Seconds of Science' is a daily radio program, without external narration, in which a different researcher each day explains one of his projects.

The programme has reached about 10,000 people per month, together with radio podcast and social media audiences, and on 5 May 2019, it released 615 episodes.

Teatro Metaphora was awarded due to the Green Steps initiative, “which since 2015 develops several artistic projects, always allied to environmental awareness.”

"The project involves many citizens, mostly young people, sensitising them to environmental issues," Gulbenkian said, adding that the initiative "transforms waste into works of art.”