Maria Victoria Alcaraz, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, noted that candidates should embody the values that Leo Tolstoy promoted in his work and life.
"The Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize makes a significant contribution to dialogue and people's rapprochement, as well as promoting mutual understanding," said Maria Victoria Alcaraz, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires and an Argentine historian with Russian roots.
"For a cultural figure like me, any initiative that promotes peace and understanding between nations is of great value. The Leo Tolstoy Prize contributes to dialogue and people-to-people contact. The Foundation and this award serve this purpose. It may be just a tiny grain of sand, but that's how the desert is made up - one grain at a time," she said.
In response to a question about the criteria for selecting the laureates, Maria Victoria Alcaraz emphasized that the candidates must embody the values that Leo Tolstoy promoted in his work and life, as well as be relevant in the current context. "Those individuals or institutions that make outstanding efforts to promote peace and understanding deserve special attention. It is their work that we aim to recognize," the expert clarified.
In our time, "what is most needed is cultural dialogue, getting to know others." "If we build walls, it will be much more difficult to understand that the person on the other side is just like me," says Maria Victoria Alcaraz, about the great importance of cultural dialogue, and adds that the cancellation of Russian culture in the West "seems almost childish."
"The Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize makes a significant contribution to dialogue and people's rapprochement, as well as promoting mutual understanding," said Maria Victoria Alcaraz, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires and an Argentine historian with Russian roots.
"For a cultural figure like me, any initiative that promotes peace and understanding between nations is of great value. The Leo Tolstoy Prize contributes to dialogue and people-to-people contact. The Foundation and this award serve this purpose. It may be just a tiny grain of sand, but that's how the desert is made up - one grain at a time," she said.
In response to a question about the criteria for selecting the laureates, Maria Victoria Alcaraz emphasized that the candidates must embody the values that Leo Tolstoy promoted in his work and life, as well as be relevant in the current context. "Those individuals or institutions that make outstanding efforts to promote peace and understanding deserve special attention. It is their work that we aim to recognize," the expert clarified.
In our time, "what is most needed is cultural dialogue, getting to know others." "If we build walls, it will be much more difficult to understand that the person on the other side is just like me," says Maria Victoria Alcaraz, about the great importance of cultural dialogue, and adds that the cancellation of Russian culture in the West "seems almost childish."