His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal served as Crown Prince to the Hashemite Throne of Jordan from 1965 to 1999 serving as acting Regent for his brother, His late Majesty King Hussein. He has initiated and founded a number of Jordanian and international institutes including, The Higher Council for Science and Technology, in 1987, The Royal Scientific Society, in 1970 and The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, in 1994.

On the international stage, Prince Hassan founded the International Cultures Foundation in 2002 out of which the Parliament of Cultures was formed in 2004. HRH launched Partners in Humanity as a joint initiative with John Marks from Search For Common Ground. Decorated by over twenty nations, His Royal Highness is the holder of the Order of Al Hussein bin Ali, Jordan’s highest decoration. He is the author of nine books including, Search For Peace (1984). He is being honored for his life-long commitment to foster interfaith and cross-cultural cooperation for peace.

The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown, South Africa was appointed Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg in 1975 as the first black to hold that position. In 1976 he was made Bishop of Lesotho and in 1978 he became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. He served as the chairman of the Truth and econciliation Commission because of his role in the abolishment of South Africa’s Apartheid policy.

In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa”. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims in 2003 and was named a member of the United Nations advisory panel on genocide prevention in 2006. Desmond Tutu
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009. He is being honored for his visionary leadership to ensure civil rights and religious freedom for all.

His All Holiness, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, the "Green Pope," is the 270th successor of the 2,000 year old Christian Church founded by St. Andrew the Apostle. In this role he transcends every national and ethnic group on a global level and today is the spiritual leader of approximately 250 million faithful world-wide.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew strives to prepare the Orthodox Church for its continuing role as a mediator between East and West, co-sponsoring, for instance, the Peace and Tolerance Conference in Istanbul (1994) bringing together Christians, Muslims and Jews. He is best known as the “Green Patriarch” for his efforts in organizing since 1995, major international environmental symposia including six Religion, Science and Environmental International Symposia since 1999. These efforts together with his inspiring efforts on behalf of religious freedom and human rights earned him the Congressional Gold Medal by the U.S. Congress. He is being honored for these efforts together with his inspiring commitment on behalf of religious freedom, human rights and interfaith understanding.

Karen Armstrong has written more than 20 books on faith and the major religions. She is especially known for her study of what Islam, Christianity and Judaism have in common and how our faiths shape world history and drive world events. In 2008 she won the TED Prize and assembled the Charter for Compassion, a document around which religious figures can work together for peace. As part of this process, she gathered together the Council of Conscience, a group of religious leaders and thinkers, who crafted the document which was launched in November 2009. The Juliet Hollister Award is being given to Karen Armstrong because she is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding.

Message to the Temple of Understanding from
His Holiness the Dalai Lama supporting the TOU's vision - click to read

Sister Kirby: Interfaith Visionary Lifetime Achievement Award

In dedication to Sister Joan Kirby for promoting interreligious
values at the United Nations, her lifelong commitment to
addressing human rights and ecological issues, and her
passionate devotion to the development of young leaders.

Sister Joan Kirby's accomplishments have been highlighted by several high level initiatives. She served as Secretary of the NGO Committee on Human Rights, Chairperson of the 2004 NGO/DPI Conference, "The Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action" and chaired the Outreach Committee for the 2008 NGO/DPI Conference on the International Declaration of Human Rights held in Paris, France. Sister Kirby was elected to serve for two years as Chair of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee and was President of the Religious
NGOs at the UN.

Sister Kirby has played an important role in developing the
first ever Tri-Partite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation and Peace
which is composed of Member States, UN Agencies and NGOs
working for peace through interfaith cooperation. She is
currently on the Steering Committee for a UN Decade of
Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace as well as
being a founding member of the Interfaith Consortium for
Ecological Civilization. Sister Kirby also has been invited and
hosted around the world at global conferences related to UN issues.

Since 2004, Sister Joan Kirby has been instrumental in the education
of teen youth at the Temple of Understanding through her UN Intensive
Internship Program.

UN Secretary General BAN Ki-moon's sends congratulatory note to Sr. Joan. The special letter was read by Under Secretary General, Robert Orr, at the Gala.