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Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, Wednesday met with Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2022 judging committee at the Apostolic Palace and commended their role in promoting the core principles of tolerance and human fraternity.

The Pope hailed the meeting with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb as historic, being the "first step" on the road of humanitarian fraternity.

For their part, the members of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2022 judging committee expressed gratitude to Pope Francis for his support to the committee in its noble missions.

In the meantime, the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2022 judging committee will convene its first in-person meeting this week in Rome, Italy, where the members will discuss the evaluation mechanisms in deciding the 2022 award honoree(s), in the third edition of the award.

The judging committee includes former president of Niger and winner of the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership Mahamadou Issoufou, 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta, former Deputy President of South Africa and former UN Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Holy See H.Em. Cardinal Michael Czerny, President of the Aladdin Project Leah Pisar, and Secretary-General of the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity (HCHF) Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam. The independent committee previously held a virtual meeting on August 10, following the launch of nominations for the award on July 1, 2021. During the meetings in Rome, the judges are expected to engage in in-depth discussions about the criteria of the nominations received by the committee so far, which includes providing the opportunity to nominate personalities and institutions from around the world that have made significant contributions to humanity. They will also discuss the evaluation mechanisms in selecting the 2022 honoree(s).

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is a global award recognizing individuals, organizations, and entities who are making profound contributions to human progress and peaceful coexistence.

The HCHF, which grants the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, is an independent international committee instituted to promote human fraternity values around the world and to fulfill the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity, co-signed by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb in 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and patron of human fraternity. The two great religious figures are the first honorary recipients of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

HCHF Secretary-General Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam said, "Our meeting will be a valuable opportunity for the judging committee to discuss its role as an impartial committee, as well as how we can advance the principles of the Document on Human Fraternity through our work and decision on the 2022 honoree(s)."

The nominations process for the 2022 award will close on December 1, 2021. The honoree(s) will be announced on February 4, 2022.

Nominations can be made by qualified nominators through the official website of the Zayed Award of Human Fraternity,
https://zayedaward.org/.