The Federal Foreign Office, in cooperation with the German-Israeli Future Forum, is awarding the 2024 Shimon Peres Prize to the projects PowHer and Link Bridge. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is patron of the prize. The prize will be awarded by State Minister Dr. Tobias Lindner, on October 31, 2024.
PowHer is a German-Israeli cooperation project between Ludwig Wolker e.V. and Tzofim Olami. Link Bridge was initiated by capito Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania / Lebenshilfewerk Hagenow and Lotem.
In addition to the regular Shimon Peres Prize, this year only, a Special Prize will be awarded to the Israeli project SAHI, which supports evacuated teenagers. The jury also gives honorable mentions to the three initiatives Daily Postcards, Sunflowers and Shomrim, which support Israeli civil society.
“Projects like PowHer and Link Bridge are of immense importance for our democratic future. They focus on the link between Germany and Israel, build bridges and advocate equal rights and social participation. Through their committed work, PowHer has laid the foundation for a network of young, committed women who are engaged in a joint dialog for social change in both countries. The inclusion project Link Bridge strengthens the friendship and participation of people with disabilities in Germany and Israel. The resulting artworks, which bear witness to the trauma of October 7, will be exhibited in both countries, in the fall of 2024. The winning project of the Shimon Peres Special Prize and the three initiatives on the short list impressively demonstrate the commitment and resilience with which Israelis and Israeli civil society stood together and supported each other, after October 7 – through artistic projects on the war, support for journalists affected by violence or aid for orphaned Bedouin children. We are delighted to be able to present these initiatives and their work to a wider audience”, says PD Dr. Tamara Or, Director of the Future Forum.
Since 2017, the Shimon Peres Prize has been awarded annually by the Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the German-Israeli Future Forum Foundation to two cooperation projects. It is endowed with 10,000 euros for each of the prize-winning projects. The prize is awarded in memory of former Israeli President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres. It recognizes initiatives and projects by young people who are particularly committed to shaping German-Israeli society in a democratic and joint way. This year, a Shimon Peres Special Prize, also endowed with 10,000 euros, will be awarded to an Israeli civil initiative that organized and offered support to Israeli society in an outstanding manner, following the brutal attacks by Hamas, on October 7, 2023.
The jury includes Daniel Donskoy (actor and musician), Kerstin Griese (Member of Parliament, Parliamentary State Secretary and politician for social policies for the SPD), Tamar Hay-Sagiv (Deputy Head of the Education Department at the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation), Andrea Kiewel (presenter, columnist and author), Igor Levit (pianist and activist), Pola Sarah Nathusius, (distribution and social media strategist at ARD) and Brigitte Zypries (former Federal Minister and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the German-Israeli Future Forum Foundation).
The award ceremony, hosted by Andrea Kiewel, will take place in Berlin on October 31 in the presence of the award winners, Prof. Tsvia Walden, Shimon Peres’ daughter and professor of linguistics, and Mayor Stefan Evers.
Information on previous award-winning projects can be found at:
https://www.dizf.de/english/shimon-peres-prize/prizewinners/current-prizewinners.html
Information on award-winning projects from 2024 can be found in German at:
http://www.dizf.de/deutsch/shimon-peres-preis/preistraegerinnen/index.html
