Schwarzkopf Europe Award

2022 – Serhij Zhadan is not only a great writer and musician, but he has also always shown courage. Having already actively supported the Orange Revolution and Euromaidan, Zhadan's poetry and commitment stand for a vibrant Ukrainian civil society. In face of the war, he embodies a sign of hope – not just for Ukraine, but for all of Europe.

2021 – As Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzanna Čaputová takes a stand against organized crime, for minority rights and an eco-sustainable future. She is honoured by the jury for this commitment and her exemplary role as a democratic leader.

2020 – With her cinematic works and beyond, the Norwegian filmmaker Deeyah Khan deals in an impressive way with religious and political fundamentalists and perpetrators of violence and confronts them with their own befliefs. With her feminist magazine “sister-hood” she offers young Muslim women a supporting platform and creates a network of unheard voices.

2019 – This year, the Schwarzkopf Foundation honours the civil rights initiative New Europeans, which is campaigning for an #EUGreenCard to ring fence the rights and status of EU citizens currently resident in the UK and Britons currently resident in Europe.

2018 – Margrethe Vestager has been European Commissioner for Competition since 2014. The jury honored her inspiring interpretation of her role as commissioner and the courage she has shown in the past years fighting for fair competition. As a Commissioner, she pushed for compliance with EU laws, but also worked tirelessly to bring EU institutions closer to their constituents.

2017 – Emily O’Reilly is the EU Ombudswoman who supports the integrity of the different institutions of the European Union and upholds the European idea in her work. She has become a role model for the European youth through her tiredless work against the erosion of the European Union.

2016 – IHA Germany e.V. , Flüchtlinge Willkommen, and SOS Méditerranée for their work with central challenges to the refugee crisis. Inter European Human Aid Association in Germany focuses on the protection and assistance on the EU borders. The initiative Flüchtlinge Wilkommen brings flat shares and refugees together. SOS Méditerranée Germany not only supports shipwrecked refugees in the Mediterranean sea but protects and guides refugees and migrants with the help of medical and psychological care.

2015 – Neil MacGregor is a historian and one of the founding directors of the Humboldt Forum who has outstandingly dedicated himself to the European self-conception. He manages to unite cultural visions of the past, present and future in an extraordinary way, using innovative ways of teaching.

2014 – The human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina shows impressive dedication in her work for human rights in her native Russia. She fights especially for refugees and displaced persons in Russia and Europe and founded in 1990 the first human rights organisation in Russia. Together with parlamantarians, she is developing legal basis for the rights of refugees and displaced persons und is convinced that Germany's asylum policy plays an important role in Europe.

2013 – sociologist Ulrich Beck is committed to the European common good instead of narrow-minded national policies in times of crises. He is eager to make his scientific insights and a debate about them accessible to as many people as possible and thus contributes to the creation of a European public.

2012 – German politician Martin Schulz is honoured for his tiredless advocacy for a solidary and united Europe in his role as the President of the European Parliament.

2011 – Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action, received the Schwarzkopf Europe Award 2011 for her dedicated and tireless commitment in the fight against climate change.

2010 – Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, was honoured for his communication of the historical importance of European integration and cooperation, and his exemplary management of the financial crisis. Additionally, he was honoured for his commitment to counteract casual emergences of nationalism in European politics.

2009 – Mirsad Tokaca, Nataša Kandić and Vesna Terselic were jointly awarded the Schwarzkopf Europe Award for their tireless efforts for peace and understanding in South-Eastern Europe. Kandić is the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Law Center Belgrad, Terselic the founder and director of the Documenta Zagreb and Tokaca the founder and executive director of the Research and Documentation Center Sarajevo

2008 – Alexander Stubb, Finland's President and former Foreign Minister, has devoted much of his academic and political career to Europe: at the London School of Economics and Political Science, at the College of Europe in Bruges, in Strasbourg and Brussels, in Helsinki and in the Caucasus. He has written numerous books and publications on the EU, explaining to young Europeans in particular how it works.

2007 – Aliaksandr Lahvinets campaigned for a European future in Belarus at the risk of his personal safety and that of his family during the period of "Europe's last dictatorship" in Belarus. His commitment includes the publication of countless essays and articles, which mainly deal with the development of relations between the EU and the future Belarus.

2006 – Dieter Kosslick, Director of the Berlin International Film Festival from 2001 to 2019, is being honored for his commitment to the arts and culture, especially the film industry, which contributes significantly to cultural exchange in Europe and thus to European understanding. With his commitment, he proves that cultural exchange is the key to successful European integration and the development of a European public sphere.

2004 – Navid Kermani is a German writer, reporter, journalist and habilitated Orientalist. He is considered one of the most influential intellectuals in Germany. His literary work is primarily dedicated to human borderline experiences in the face of death, everyday life, religions, experiences with music and sexuality. His academic work deals in particular with the Koran and Islamic mysticism.

2003 – Carla del Ponte is a Swiss lawyer and diplomat. After working as a federal prosecutor, she was Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague from 1999 to 2007 and Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha. From 2011 to 2017, she was a member of a UN commission (IICISyria) investigating human rights violations in Syria during the civil war.