The Peres Heritage Initiative 2024

The Initiative in brief

The Peres Heritage Initiative is a social award launched at the 43rd edition of The European House - Ambrosetti Annual Forum “Intelligence on the World, Europe, and Italy” to commemorate the legacy of Shimon Peres, whom for 24 years participated in our Annual Forum, among which his very last public appearance, becoming for us all a mentor and a source of great inspiration.

To pass on his legacy of technological innovation and pursuit of peace to the future generations, each year the Peres Heritage Initiative awards three young innovators at our Annual Forum. Recipients of the Peres Heritage Initiative are hosted at the Forum with a slot in the main conference program, where they have the chance to benefit from exposure to the global business, political and institutional communities, as well as to the media. 

The Peres Heritage Inititiave enjoys high institutional support. The award ceremony of the first three editions of the Peres Heritage Initiative were celebrated in 2017 by former Italian Prime Minister and currently EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, in 2018 by former Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, and in 2019 by former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 2020 and 2021, due to the need of social distancing, the initiative took place in digital format only, while in 2022 the winners were awarded by Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, and in 2023 they were welcomed by Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA astronaut.

In cooperation with Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, with the support of Teva. 

Eighth edition (2024)

The latest edition was held at TEHA's 50th Annual Forum “Intelligence on the World, Europe, and Italy” (Cernobbio, September 6-7-8, 2024).

How to apply

Applications are closed.

Target and eligibility

Young innovators and researchers below the age of 35, who have distinguished themselves in one of the following fields, are eligible for the Peres Heritage Initiative:

Evaluation criteria

The recipients are chosen according to their alignment with Shimon Peres’s vision on political activism:

• Commitment. Self-dedication to a cause will be a major element of the Peres Heritage Initiative winners
• Pursuit of Peace. Strong ethics and morality are the backbone of a functioning and peaceful society, the one Shimon Peres strived for
• Entrepreneurship. Transforming visionary dreams into successful businesses, employment, and growth is one of the reasons Shimon Peres will be remembered
• Impact. Those with the best intentions and utmost commitment are to be admired, but the award will only be presented to those who really make a difference
• Inclusivity. In a world of alienation and rising inequality, those who distinguished themselves by tearing down walls – rather than building them – will be the leaders of tomorrow
• Innovation. Facing new challenges entails finding new solutions. The global leaders of tomorrow will be those capable of thinking out of the box to elaborate elegant solutions to complex problems.

Selection process

Candidates are selected through two different channels, application and nomination, according to the following process.

• Step 1. Opening of the Global Call for Innovators (from March 15, 2024, to May 31, 2024)
• Step 2. Closing of applications and selection of 20 high potential candidates
• Step 3. Second round of selections by The European House - Ambrosetti's employees, who will draw a short list of 8 candidates
• Step 4. Third round of selections by the Advisors of the The European House - Ambrosetti's Cernobbio Forum, who will select the three final winners.

Fifth edition - 2021 (digital)

The Fifth edition was held during the session «Building the future through young talents», moderated by Mauro Ferrari, of the 47th edition of the annual Forum of The European House - Ambrosetti. Here are the names of the young winners and their projects:

Stefano Casagrande, CEO and Co-founder of Davinci Healthcare, a telemedicine start-up that aims to improve the performance of healthcare systems at local level, providing medical assistance with a focus on preventive care, through monitoring, consulting and creating the patient’s digital twin. The start-up’s activity was strongly accelerated by the pandemic: in the second half of 2020, it managed 30,000 appointments and remotely monitored more than 2,000 patients affected by Covid-19.

Naomi McKenzie, CEO and Co-founder of Kitro, a Swiss start-up founded in 2017 to meet the great challenge of reducing food waste and ensuring that food is valued. During her first-hand experience in the Food and Beverage industry, Naomi has witnessed the significant impacts of food waste and this lead her to a commitment to reducing waste in the industry.

Or Retzkin, CEO and Co-founder of EyeControl, a start-up that was created to support individuals in therapeutic isolation, and improve their communication skills. Or serves as Major of the Israeli Army, collaborates as a lecturer at Tel Aviv University and is Alumnus Director of the 8200 Impact Accelerator. He holds a multidisciplinary degree in Physics and Economics from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Finance.

Fourth edition - 2020 (digital)

Chiara Cecchini, Cofounder of Future Food Network (Italy, sustainability). Working with a team of designers, chefs, scientists, nutritionists and economists, Florence-born Chiara Cecchini’s Future Food Network delivers international educational programs to build capacity on food and sustainability, engages the broader community though physical and digital activations, as well as helps major companies become more eco-friendly through R&D activities. Future Food Network is a purpose-driven company that supports food and beverage companies into their innovation journey towards more sustainable solutions, providing the tools and the skillset to perform SDG-centered innovation and regenerative design, as well as to assess outputs.

Olga Dubey, Cofounder and CEO of Agrosustain, a Nyon-based start-up that develops and brings to market novel, efficient, and natural antifungal solutions to extend the freshness of fruits and vegetables infected with molds. Currently in the pilot phase, AgroSustain aims for a full market entry in 2022, by targeting the highly-traded exotic fruits segment first – avocado, banana, and pineapple – and then scaling up to other highly-stored crops, such as potatoes and carrots

Lex Hoefsloot, Cofounder and CEO of Lightyear, a tech company on a mission to create clean mobility for everyone. Currently, they are developing their first solar car, Lightyear One, which will come to market in 2021. Since the launch of the company in 2016, Lightyear received many awards, grants and support from key investors. With over 32 patents pending and more than 100 pre-orders, they are scaling-up towards start of production.

For further information:
Matteo Polistina, matteo.polistina@ambrosetti.eu
Tel.: +39 02 46753.314