Prague Archbishop Duka among awarded Czech sponsors

Prague, June 21 (CTK) - Grand Prix D 2012, the main prize for sponsors of children's homes, hospices and cultural institutions went to Marta and Ladislav Sisler Thursday, while Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg was awarded as a foreign benefactor and Prague Archbishop Dominik Duka as a moral example of a benefactor.

The Sisler couple, coming from east Bohemia, received the prize, whose name derives from the first letter of Dik (Czech word for "thanks") for supporting the Agnes of Bohemia Hospic for 17 years.

In other categories, the D prize went to sponsors of theatres, zoos, museums, children's homes and old people's homes. Its fresh holders are not only big multinational companies but also small firms, entrepreneurs, families and individuals, including some celebrities devoted to charity.

"Our society includes so many people and institutions that are capable of going against the tide. It is because they respect man, respect the wish of those who need help because of illness or for other reasons," Cardinal Duka said at the ceremony.

Norwegian ambassador Jens Eikaas took over the prize for Prime Minister Stoltenberg, whom the organisers awarded for the way he raised the Norwegian people's spirits after last summer's massacre on the Utoya island.