ifa Award

About the ifa Award

With the ifa Award, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen recognises the contribution of individuals and institutions to fostering transcultural relations through their social, socio-political or artistic work.

Supporting the freedom of the arts, civil society and science are key elements of ifa's mission. Today, these freedoms are increasingly under threat, with nationalism, populism and authoritarian tendencies just some of the challenges they face, even in democracies. Since 2009, the ifa Award has sent out a clear signal in support of human rights, democracy, peace, and freedom for artists, scientists and civil society actors. These values are also an integral part of the statutes of ifa.

The winners donate the 10,000-euro prize money to a cultural, charitable and peace-building project or organisation of their choice. The ifa Award was initiated by the ifa Friends' Association.

Until 2019, the award was named after Theodor Wanner (1875-1955), who initiated the establishment of the Deutsches Ausland-Institut (DAI), today's ifa, in 1917 (History of ifa).

 

ifa Award 2024

ifa Award Winner 2024: Ukraine 5AM Coalition

5 AM is the time of awakening. We would like the world to wake up and understand: if Ukraine fails to stop Russian aggression, in the next round, the war will spread to the rest of Europe.

Tetiana Pechonchyk, Head of the Human Rights Center ZMINA at the CEU Open Society Prize award ceremony

ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen honors Ukraine 5 AM Coalition with the ifa Prize 2024. The 5 AM Coalition is a growing coalition of over 30 Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and four independent experts. Together they collect and document war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Russian armed aggression in Ukraine.

They aim to protect the victims of the attacks and to bring justice to top leadership of the Russian Federation and direct perpetrators of war crimes. This is to be achieved not only through the targeted documentation of the crimes, but also through the broad dissemination of information to the public in Ukraine and abroad.  The coalition began its work immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine: It emerged February 24, 2022, but many of its member organizations have been active in this field since 2014, documenting serious crimes in Crimea and in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The name of the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition organization commemorates the time when the Russian attacks began.

Previous Winners of the ifa Award

2022: Osman Kavala

  • Laureate: Human rights activist, patron of the arts and entrepreneur Osman Kavala
  • Laudatory speech: Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, Member of the Bundestag and former President of the Bundestag
  • Prize money recipient: Rengarenk Umutlar Derneği (Association of Colorful Hope), rights and freedoms of children in Southeast Turkey

Human rights activist, cultural patron and entrepreneur Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkey, was honored with the ifa Award for the Dialogue of Cultures in 2022. He emerged as a leading player in Turkish civil society during the 1990s. In 2002, he co-founded Anadolu Kültür, which brings together the arts, business, and civil society to support local initiatives, highlight cultural diversity, and strengthen international collaboration.

2021: Igor Levit

  • Preisträger: Pianist und Hochschulprofessor Igor Levit
  • Laudatio: Claudia Roth, Staatsministerin für Kultur und Medien und ehemalige Vizepräsidentin des Deutschen Bundestags
  • Preisgeldempfänger: HateAid, Beratungsstelle für Opfer von digitaler Gewalt

Der international gefeierte Pianist und Hochschulprofessor Igor Levit erhielt in Anerkennung eines über Grenzen wirkenden künstlerischen und gesellschaftspolitischen Engagements den ifa-Preis für den Dialog der Kulturen 2021. Igot Levit hat als Preigeldempfänger die Organisation HateAid ausgewählt, die sich für Opfer von digitaler Gewalt einsetzt – d.h. Menschen, die online beleidigt, verleumdet oder bedroht werden – unter anderem durch kostenlose Beratungsangebote und Prozesskostenfinanzierung.

Highlights der Preisverleihung 2021 sowie das Kolloquium 2021: "Kultur + Freiheit" sind weiterhin auf YouTube einsehbar.

2019: Federica Mogherini

  • Laureate: Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
  • Laudatory speech: Heiko Maas, former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Recipient of the prize money: Rondine Cittadella della Pace

2017: Silvia von Schweden

  • Laureate: Silvia, Queen of Sweden
  • Laudatory speech: Sigmar Gabriel, former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Recipient of the prize money: Sociedade Beneficente Alemã

2016: Human Rights Watch

  • Laureate: Human Rights Watch, independent non-governmental organization
  • Laudatory speech: Dr. Bärbel Kofler, former Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid
  • Recipient of the prize money: Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack

2014: Ernesto Cardenal

  • Laureate: Ernesto Cardenal, politician and theologian
  • Laudatory speech: Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, former President of the German Bundestag
  • Recipient of the prize money: Pan y Arte / Solentiname

2013: Yoko Ono

  • Laureate: Yoko Ono, artist
  • Laudatory speech: Dr. Guido Westerwelle, former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Recipient of the prize money: PAWA254

2011: Jacques Delors

  • Laureate: Dr. h.c. Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission
  • Laudatory speech: Dr. h. c. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Recipient of the prize money: Notre Europe

2010: Carla del Ponte

  • Laureate: Carla del Ponte, lawyer
  • Laudatory speech: Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Jutta Limbach, former President of the Federal Constitutional Court
  • Recipient of the prize money: Fondazione Falcone

2009: Daniel Barenboim

  • Laureate: Dr. h. c. Daniel Barenboim, conductor
  • Laudatory speech: Dr. h.c. Joschka Fischer, former Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs 
  • Recipient of the prize money: West-Eastern Divan Orchestra