Peace Banquet 2002

On September 5, 2002, the "Nuremberg Peace Banquet" was held for the first time in its new form – as a benefit dinner. The banquet is a reminder of a historic event of 1649 which marked a milestone in the European peace process after the end of the Thirty Years' War. Today it is intended to raise funds for peace and human rights projects. The money collected is used mainly to support selected projects initiated by the person(s) honoured with the previous year's Nuremberg International Human Rights Award.

Donations for Projects in Latin America

The second Nuremberg Peace Banquet was therefore dedicated to Mexico, the home country of Bishop emeritus Samuel Ruíz García, awardee of the 2001 Human Rights Award. Numerous guests, including former Federal President Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog, the jury for the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, speakers from the International Human Rights Conference as well as representatives from Nuremberg's partner cities, participated in the festive event and thus supported the city's efforts towards peace and respect for human rights. Mexican food and a Latin American musical programme accompanied the event, when Samuel Ruíz García talked about his peace and human rights work in Chiapas, one of the poorest and most conflict-ridden federal states of Mexico. The donations collected were used to support two institutions, one for indigenous women and one for street children in Chiapas. It is to assist in developing those centres into general centres for peace and human rights work.