Former Indonesian vice president Jusuf Kalla was appointed as one of the jury panel members for the 2021 award, which was granted to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten.

Kalla shared with The Jakarta Post’s Kharishar Kahfi and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano his experience as a juror and reflected on human fraternity and tolerance in Indonesia.

Question: What is the story behind your appointment as a member of the jury panel?

Answer: The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, and Pope Francis signed a declaration in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4, 2019, to improve human fraternity and togetherness. The United Arab Emirates emir commemorated the occasion by presenting the awards in respect for people and organizations working for humanitarian fraternity.

The award committee invited five people, including me, to sit on the jury panel for the [2021] award. I was appointed by the [Grand Imam of] Al-Azhar to represent the Asian region. There were also others who were appointed by the Pope to represent other regions, including Africa, Europe and America.

We invited prominent people from around the world to nominate others who have experience, skills and notable track records in the humanitarian field. We had 30 names initially and shortlisted them to eight before we picked two winners: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Latifah Ibn Ziaten.

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