From among 70 nominations, the international jury of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, presided by Jorge Sampaio, Former President of Portugal, chose the Library of Alexandria and Ismail Serageldin, as its director, to be the winners of the 2013 Calouste Gulbenkian Prize. The Foundation announced the winners in a press release on 15 July 2013 and quoting the words of the jury, said: “The Library of Alexandria is a cultural reference point around the Mediterranean resulting primarily from the vision, the commitment and the tireless work of Ismail Serageldin”.
The Gulbenkian prize is awarded annually to an institution or a person for thoughts and actions that make a decisive contribution to, and have significant impact on understanding, defending and fostering the universal values of respect for diversity and difference, a culture of tolerance and the conservation of the environment. It was presented to Serageldin in a ceremony held in Lisbon on 19 July. On the occasion Serageldin gave a speech entitled “The Library of Alexandria and the ongoing Egyptian Revolution”, which was very well received.