Job Cohen wins Martin Luther King Award
On Thursday 29 May 2008, the mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen was awarded the Martin Luther King Award. It is the first time that the award has been given outside the United States. The mayor received the award from Isaac Newton Farris, nephew of the African-American minister and chairman of The King Center, USA.
According to the organisation the award is intended for persons who continue King's philosophy of tolerance and equality. Cohen received the award for, among other things, because as mayor he conducted the first gay marriage ceremony in 2001 as well as his attempts to bring different groups in society together.
Cohen is proud of the prize "Martin Luther King is one of my heroes. It is the first time that someone outside the United States has been awarded this prize. I consider it as recognition of the way I conduct myself as mayor. 'Keeping things together' is obviously appreciated.
DutchVersity organised the prize in cooperation with The King Center that has awarded a similar prize for many years in the US. The Martin Luther King Award is currently a Dutch honour, but in the coming years will develop into a European award.
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