2026 Balzan Awards Ceremony to be held in Rome – Press Release

On Thursday 19 November 2026, at 5:00 p.m. (UTC+1) in Rome at the Quirinal Palace, the 2026 Balzan Prizes will be presented to:
Elena Esposito for The Social Science of Digital Technology,
Rasmus Nielsen and Ziheng Yang for Molecular Evolution: Decoding Patterns of Genomic Change,
David Nirenberg for Jewish Studies,
Geoffrey Coates and Marc Hillmyer for Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources,
Emergency Response Rooms for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples.

The Ceremony will take place in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella. The Presidents of the Balzan Foundation – Prize, Maria Cristina Messa, and of the Balzan Foundation – Fund, Gisèle Girgis-Musy, will deliver the official speeches. In accordance with the ceremony’s usual formalities, each Prizewinner, introduced by Marta Cartabia, Chair of the General Prize Committee, will give a speech of acceptance and thanks.

The ceremony will be preceded, on Thursday, November 19, at 12:00 p.m., by the presentation of Emergency Response Rooms, to be held at the Swiss Institute in Rome; it will be followed, on Friday, November 20, starting at 9:30 a.m., by the 2026 Balzan Prizewinners Interdisciplinary Forum at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Palazzo Corsini).

You can follow the ERRs presentation via Zoom at this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84143982286?pwd=gjDb641HDSmE0EEpPqovWis6i4N3I9.1
The FORUM will be streamed live on www.balzan.org.

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