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).
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 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 name of the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition organization commemorates the time when the Russian attacks began.
The Ukraine 5 AM Coalition donated their prize money to the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian non-governmental organization that combines journalism and human rights protection to expose war crimes in Ukraine and respond to human rights violations in the context of Russian aggression.
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.
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.
