"European Prize for Political Culture 2024" for Applebaum and Sikorski
The Hans Ringier Foundation’s «European Prize for Political Culture» for 2024 has been awarded to Anne Applebaum and Radosław Sikorski. Their dedication—as a journalist and as a foreign minister, respectively—combines to form an impressive life’s work in support of an open society.
Anne Applebaum and Radosław Sikorski received the Hans Ringier Foundation’s «European Prize for Political Culture» on Saturday in Ascona. The award honors «individuals who, through their journalistic and political work, are wholeheartedly committed to the free, democratic West,» according to a statement from the Hans Ringier Foundation. «The life’s work of this extraordinary couple encompasses Western thought from the United States to Israel to Poland—the realm of freedom stretching from West to East. Anne Applebaum and Radosław Sikorski embody democracy and an open society, as well as the will to defend and promote these values. »All freedom-loving citizens owe these two individuals a debt of gratitude for their journalistic and political work,” said Frank A. Meyer, President of the Hans Ringier Foundation, commenting on the selection of this year’s award recipients.
Christian Lindner, German Federal Minister of Finance, paid tribute to the two award recipients in his laudatory speech: «Anne Applebaum and Radosław Sikorski are shaping the debates of our time and, with them, the political culture in Europe. At present, authoritarian forces are seeking to undermine the liberal order through lies and even open violence. Drawing on their deep understanding of Soviet oppression at home and imperialism abroad, Applebaum and Sikorski chart paths toward the preservation of freedom. They are standard-bearers of the free world. For this, they deserve the 2024 European Prize for Political Culture, our gratitude, and our deep respect.»
The award ceremony took place during the traditional «Dîner Républicain,» which is held annually at the «Castello del Sole» hotel in Ascona at the invitation of Frank A. Meyer.
The prize, worth 50,000 euros, «The Hans Ringier Foundation’s »European Prize for Political Culture” is being awarded for the 18th time and has previously been awarded to Jean-Claude Juncker, Boris Tadić, Jürgen Habermas, Pascal Lamy, Jean-Claude Trichet, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Donald Tusk, Wolfgang Schäuble, Heinrich August Winkler, Mario Draghi, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Margrethe Vestager, Sir Christopher Munro Clark, Zuzana Caputová, Peter Sloterdijk, Kaja Kallas, and Alexei Navalny.
