The 2017 Balzan Prizes presented in Berne

• Bina Agarwal (India), for Gender Studies
• Aleida and Jan Assmann (Germany), for Collective Memory
• James P. Allison and Robert D. Schreiber (USA), for Immunological Approaches in Cancer Therapy
• Michaël Gillon (Belgium), for The Sun’s Planetary System and Exoplanets
• Robert O. Keohane, (USA) for International Relations, History and Theory (2016)

The presentation of the parchments took place in the presence of the President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard. The Presidents of the Balzan Foundation “Prize” and “Fund”, Enrico Decleva and Gisèle Girgis-Musy, delivered the official speeches.
In accordance with the ceremony’s usual formalities, each Prizewinner gave a speech of acceptance and thanks after being introduced by the Chairman of the General Prize Committee, Salvatore Veca.
The International Balzan Foundation awarded 750,000 Swiss Francs (approx. €650,000, $750,000) for each prize, a figure which places the Balzan Prize amongst the largest prize funds in the world of Science and Culture. The winners are each required to allocate half of their prize money to funding research projects carried out preferably by young scholars or scientists in their respective fields.

The Ceremony was preceded, on Thursday 16 November, by the Balzan Prizewinners Interdisciplinary Forum, a public event dedicated to the Balzan Prize subject areas for the current year, with the Prizewinners playing the prominent role.