The Madame de Staël Prize is awarded to eminent individuals whose work represents a significant contribution to the shared values of Europe and to the idea of European integration, thereby promoting and strengthening an understanding of Europe as multifaceted, intellectual, open, and vibrant. The prize also seeks to underline the significance and value of outstanding scholarly and intellectual pursuits for the advancement of the European project and our common values.
Europe is remarkable in that its definition, cultural and geographic boundaries have varied over the centuries, yet there has been a constant understanding of European culture as rooted in an inherent openness, supported by dynamic and vigorous intellectualism. In a time when the cultural diversity of Europe seems to be increasingly threatened by skepticism, extremism, and instability, this prize serves to remind us of our deep-rooted and revered commitment to tolerance, mutual respect, and compassion for others.
Viola Priesemann, 2024 Madame de Staël Prize Laureate
ALLEA is proud to announce that Viola Priesemann, German physicist and Board Member of the German Young Academy (“Die Junge Akademie”), has been awarded the 2024 Madame de Staël Prize in recognition of her remarkable scientific achievements in the field of physics, her exceptional leadership and her profound commitment to fostering a coordinated European response during the pandemic. The selection committee felt that Prof Dr Priesemann’s unwavering dedication to fostering an environment in which interdisciplinary research can flourish and the advancement pan-European cooperation in science, policy, and public health during a global crisis were both outstanding in their own right, as well as complementary to ALLEA’s own mission of facilitating scientific collaboration across borders and disciplines.
The Madame de Staël Prize Lecture is an annual scientific event hosted by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities. The laureate of each year’s Madame de Staël Prize delivers an interactive lecture reflecting on current affairs in the European political and scientific landscape. The occasion serves as an open invitation to exchange views on the course of the European project among scientists, scholars, policymakers, and the public.
