Wednesday, 18 February, in Genoa (Italy), the Regional Assembly of Liguria Region, has confered on Andrea Riccardi the "Sigillo d'Argento" (Silver Seal) and the Regional Prize for solidarity and peace.

The prize, highest honour of the Region, has been established to award "persons or subjects that have promoted or realized particular initiatives in the field of cooperation to development and in sensitizing to international solidarity and to peace". The price had been awarded only once before, in 2001, to Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolari Movement.

This year the decision to confer it on Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, which, it has been said "has become an authoritative interlocutor favourising dialogue and respect among different faiths and various cultures of lay inspiration: dialogue and respect aimed at a common civilization of living together".