Varuna wins ZODA award for peace for the 25th time in a row.
Since yesterday evening, the winners of the ZODA awards have been announced. The nominees were already known last month, but yesterday the suspense was finally over.
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Varuna was a big contender for the peace award like all other years, but Aionia also stood a good chance this year. Still, Varuna won the award, after doing some nice deeds for their neighbouring country.
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Last year, for instance, Varuna donated 3,000 trees to Aionia after hearing that Aionia was facing a major forest fire. The relationship between the two countries is murky, yet Aionia accepted this gift. They have also offered resources to their neighbours when they needed it.
Winning the award is not just down to the nice gestures to their neighbours. In fact, Varuna has long been known for its harmonious population. Among tourists, it is known as the most pleasant and safe place to spend your holidays. Many tourist say they have never been so well received in a foreign country.
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"We are extremely grateful and proud to win this award again, but we are not doing this for the award, we have always lived this way, with the same standards and values" – Ravi, inhabitant of Varuna.
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After 25 years, Varuna is still not changing its mind.
Normally, a sum of money is donated to the winning country, to make investments or buy supplies. Varuna has refused this for 25 years in a row and asks the organisation behind the ZODA awards to donate the money to the WNC (World's Nature Conservation) instead.
Not only celebrating victory
Winning the award was not the only thing Varuna had to celebrate; the country also celebrated the fact that Varuna, the country's discoverer, was canonised exactly five years ago. From then on, this day became Varuna's national holiday. It was a double celebration for all the inhabitants.
