And the award goes to…

For the fourth year, the BNP Paribas Awards for Personal Philanthropy, the event organized by BNP Paribas Wealth Management, awarded two outstanding projects with the Grand Prix and the Jury’s Special Prize.

The winners were chosen by an independent jury, made up of experts  from the fields of art, cultures, business and non profit, chaired by Suzanne Berger, Professor of Political Science at the M.I.T.

This year the Grand Prix, which honors the achievements and the long-term commitment of an individual or a family, went to the Vehbi Koc Foundation, a philanthropic institute founded in 1969 by the Koc family in Turkey. The foundation focuses on three areas that are considered to be essential for the development of the country: culture, education and health. Beside distributing funds, the foundation has an important role in encouraging the establishment of other charitable foundations in Turkey.

For his work on behalf of handicapped people in South and Southeast Asia, Peter Carey, creator of the Cambodia Trust, was awarded the Jury’s Special Prize, which celebrates the commitment of a philanthropist  who has initiated an innovative project . The foundation provides assistance to the 38 thousand victims of anti-personnel mines in Cambodia.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management is one of the main private banks in the world and was one of the first to get involved with philanthropy, creating the BNP Paribas Awards for Personal Philanthropy, in 2008.