Lampedusa Mayor Giusy Nicolini on Wednesday was awarded UNESCO's Houphouet-Boigny peace prize in Paris alongside French NGO SOS Méditerranée for saving countless migrants and refugees and receiving them on the Italian island.
"Since she was elected mayor in 2012," the announcement for the award said, "Nicolini has distinguished herself for her great humanity and constant commitment in the management of the refugee crisis as thousands of refugees arrived on the coasts of Lampedusa and elsewhere in Italy." Lampedusa is a an island that serves as an entry point to Europe, and is closer to Africa than Sicily. Many of the migrants arriving there have made a desperate journey from Libya.
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