His Royal Highness Prince Johan Friso of Oranje -Nassau
His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn of Netherland
Honorary Chairman of the Prince Claus Fund for Cultural Development....

The Choice of the theme of the 'Positive Results of Asylum and Migration' by the jury of the Prince claus Awards is appropriate at a time when most of what one hears and reads about migration has negative connotations. We sometimes forget that in their successful development, many countries have rel;ied extensively on migration. Even the Dutch golden Age would have been less golden without it.

The Prince Claus Fund had already considered the positive aspects of migration some years ago. back in 2001, the the fund's theme was "Living Together", it investigated how people managed to live together peacefully in Zanzibar, one of the most harmonious yet multi-religious areas of Africa. This raised the question: What are they doing right where others fail?

Examining how to create a better and more peaceable society yielded obvious results during the wprkshops in Zanzibar. We need to respect and trust each other, to allow people the space for their own ideas and thoughts, adn to be guarantee that they have a place to live and work. All of this needs to be supported by a government that ensures the development, dissemination and maintenance of these conditionss throughout the country.

This fund is currently taking this research one step further by looking at other countries and global trends, and by answering questions such as: How do migrants contribute to and participate in their new environments, and how can we make sure that everyone benifits from the increasing circulation of people throughout the world?

whilst focusing on the positive effects, we are also acutley aware of the tensions that arise from the many real and preceived diferrences in Culture. The Prince Claus fund operates on the crossroads of development and culture, and sees it as its duty to help to bridge intercultural divides. Through its activities and netwroks, the Fund actively promotes understanding, learning and exchange both between and within cultures. Therefore, this aspect of "Living Together" is an extremely welcome addition.

This year, jury has selected ten extraordinary and diverse laureates fromaround the golbe. We would like to congratulate them to welcome them to our network. These people and organisations are a source of inspiration to us all, and are the ambassadors who represent the importance of culture and development throughout the world.