About Machiavelli

The Machiavelli foundation has its focus on the centre of society. Where democracy, politics and society converge at crucial moments, our foundation encourages people to add value.

Main activity of the foundation is to present a yearly award: the Machiavelli award. This award is granted to a person or organization who has excelled in public communication. The political philosopher Machiavelli makes one immediately think about his principle ‘the end justifies the means’. The Machiavelli award is granted to the person or organization who has been the most effective in putting this principle into practice. Always in a positive way and for a public cause.
The presentation of the yearly award is traditionally accompanied by the yearly Machiavelli lecture. This lecture offers a natural platform to reflect on actual themes in public communication. The event always takes place in the international press centre Nieuwspoort in The Hague with an abundance of media in attendance.

In addition to this yearly highlight, the Machiavelli foundation organizes several activities throughout the year. A popular tradition are the recurring campaign leaders debates on the morning after the elections. As the results are in for just a few hours, the campaign leaders of the main political parties evaluate their strategies. Despite the early hour, these early morning debates always attract a lot of attention and attendees focusing on crucial masterstrokes and failures in the election debate. The Machiavelli foundation also organizes events focused on current affairs. Debates between chief editors are an example.
Admission to the events is free for everybody. We can keep you informed about our activities if you let us know your e-mail address. It’s self-evident that we will solely use your information for this purpose.

History

The Machiavelli foundation was founded in the second half of the last century. Its board consists of politicians, journalists, communication experts and scientists. The walls that naturally exist between these professions are pulled down for the duration of the board meetings. Board members are independent and they don’t receive any (financial) reward for fulfilling their board responsibilities.