In May 2013, on the occasion of the inauguration of the RobertF.Kennedy(RFK)InternationalHouseofHumanRightsin Florence, RFK Europe organised a Round Table on the Economy with a human face with the Indian philosopher and economist, Prof. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and the Founder of of the “RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights”, Mrs. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, as the key note speakers.

Experts, activists and representatives of NGOs defending human rights were invited to the Round Table. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis was invited from Greece and participated in the event. She shares a long-standing friendship with the Kennedy family, whilst she and her husband, Mr. Vardis J. Vardinoyannis, are members of the “Robert F. Kennedy Leadership Council”.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen delivered a speech on a new philosophical dimension to human rights and their protection. He talked about an economy aiming at people’s’ prosperity and not at numbers, and underlined the importance of upholding moral values in managing economy and human resources. Special importance was attached to issues such as sustainable development, laws being drafted that establish citizen’s labour and social rights, collective responsibility, social justice, informing the public and raising awareness in respect to violation of human rights and mobilizing them in order to stand up and protect human rights. Mrs. Kerry Kennedy, in closing the Round Table, underscored: ““It is our duty to fight to build a more just world for the future generations. Some day we must be able to look ourselves in the mirror and feel proud of the world we have created and not be ashamed of it”.

The RFK International House of Human Rights is located inside “Le Murate”, a former prison of Florence, a place of suffering and pain. The purpose of its founders is for it to comprise a point where the human rights defenders from around the world can meet, talk and exchange views. It will deploy the most sophisticated methods of learning and practice so as to fulfil the vision of Robert Kennedy for a more just and peaceful world. The purpose of RFK International House of Human Rights is to support and strengthen defenders of human rights and to create alliances and organisations that can enable change so that human rights are respected in all countries and nobody dares infringe them.