Universität Potsdam
  • Potsdam, Germany

For Tolerance and Respect for Differences – 2021 Voltaire Prize Call for Nominations

3 September 2020
The University of Potsdam is calling for nominations for its “Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences”. Once a year, the university awards this prize, financed by the Friede Springer Foundation and worth 5,000 euros, to a person who has exhibited commitment to the freedom in research and teaching as well as to the right of free expression. As of now, young researchers can be nominated for the 2021 Voltaire Prize. It will be awarded in January 2021 on the celebratory occasion of the New Year reception of the University of Potsdam.

Nominations for the Voltaire Prize 2021 can be submitted for academics who have addressed the issues of international understanding, tolerance and respect for differences in their scholarly work and who are dedicated to promoting freedom in research and teaching as well as freedom of expression.



Posted 3 September 2020
161 views
Read more from Universität Potsdam
30 September 2020

"Germany and Turkey have distinct approaches to immigration and asylum” – 2017 Voltaire Prize recipient Hilal Alkan on the prize and her research

The University of Potsdam awarded the “Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences” for the first time on June 22, 2017. The prize went to the Turkish academic Hilal Alkan, who had signed a petition against the war in the Kurdish territories and denounced the actions committed by security forces against civilians. As a result, Alkan, who has a Ph.D. in Social Sciences, lost her job. After that, she came to Berlin where she has been doing research ever since.
Chairman of the Jury and President of the University of Potsdam Professor Oliver Günther, Ph.D. explained the jury’s decision as follows: “Hilal Alkan is a wonderful choice to be honored with the inaugural Voltaire Prize. She is a young scholar who is acting within an increasingly difficult political environment that cost her her academic position. Yet she has not been discouraged through all of it; she has continued with her work and has not allowed her voice to be silenced.” The jury voted unanimously for Hilal Alkan, Günther added. Their hope was that people like Alkan could serve as role models, upholding the ideals of the Enlightenment for which Voltaire’s name stands, both in the future and specifically in difficult political times. Five years later, Hilal Alkan looks back on the Prize and its meaning, but also on her research conducted in its spirit.
In 2017, you won the Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences. What effects did the prize have on you? Receiving the prize was a great honor for me. I am yet to see if it will have a positive effect on my career prospects in Germany. Part of the award money went to the funding of my own research and another part to a solidarity fund supporting Turkish academics who lost their jobs due to the political pressures in Turkey.
What are your current research projects – also in terms of tolerance, international understanding and respect for differences? My current research is about Syrian refugees who lived in Turkey before coming to Germany. In the context of research, they compare their experiences of welcoming, hostility and structural hardships in both countries. Germany and Turkey have distinct approaches to immigration and asylum. For Syrian refugees, Turkey offered an immediate feeling of cultural integration and safety, while it did not give them the income security to pursue their future goals. In Germany, on the other hand, Syrian refugees experience a lack of meaningful social existence; however they feel generally safe and secure. Both countries and most importantly their residents have much to learn from each other in order to ease refugees’ acceptance into society.
Why should one nominate academics for the Voltaire Prize? As the prize is getting more and more established, it would bring scientists international recognition and prestige. The prize’s core value, in my view, is to combine cutting-edge academic work with political activism for democracy and peaceful conviviality. The prize recipients are therefore recognized as such, and the prize itself is an appreciation of their work in both spheres.
The University of Potsdam awarded the “Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences” for the first time on June 22, 2017. Young academics can still be nominated for the 2021 Voltaire Prize until October 7, 2020.
18 September 2020

“Academic Work is Important for Society” – 2020 Voltaire Prize recipient Dr. Gábor Polyák on the prize and the work that followed

In January 2021, the University of Potsdam will award the Voltaire Prize for Tolerance, International Understanding and Respect for Differences” for the fifth time. Every year, the university awards this prize, financed by the Friede Springer Foundation and worth EUR5000, to a person who has exhibited commitment to the freedom in research and teaching as well as to the right of free expression. As of now, young researchers can be nominated for the 2021 Voltaire Prize. In this interview, 2020 Voltaire Prize recipient Dr. Gábor Polyák talks about the meaning of the prize from his point of view and the effects it had on him.
What effects did the prize have on you? Above all, it provided me with new motivation for my work. This helps a lot in countries where research as a contribution to public and academic debates has lost much of its importance and where civil societies are not seen as discussion partners. Apart from that, the winner of the Voltaire Prize cannot be greeted with great joy in his home country. The prize is not only a great recognition for the laureate, but also a clear message for the country and the political situation there. The congratulatory words are spoken softly. My acceptance speech was published in “Die Welt” and, as a result, became a part of the European debate about Hungary. I received the most positive feedback from German colleagues and journalists. One direct consequence was the fact that Friede Springer forged a link between the publishing company Ringier Axel Springer and me. Together we are thinking about developing a magazine or a news platform reporting on public affairs in Hungary for young readers in an understandable way. Because the most important condition for a more stable future democracy is, in my opinion, the political and democratic awareness of today's youth.
What kind of research are you doing at the moment? I am writing a book chapter that aims to make terms such as state, democracy, elections, distribution of power, etc. understandable for young people – using a story set in the world of Star Wars. These projects are not of enormous academic value, but they do reach the most important target group for the future of democracy. I am also working on a research project entitled “Truth and Credibility”. Its goal is to show which legal, self-regulating and other specialized political framework conditions are necessary to enable credible, truthful communication on digital platforms. With my NGO, Mertek Media Monitor, we have initiated cooperation with NGOs from Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Together we will publish a comparative analysis of the different forms of indirect censorship in the Eastern European region. This is intended to reveal state interventions that distort public discussion in the media without using conventional censorship.
Why should one nominate academics for the Voltaire Prize? In the social sciences in particular, there is a danger that academic work will become an end in itself. The value of our work is determined solely by indices based on academic metrics, but they completely disregard its social impact. The Voltaire Prize is an important confirmation of the fact that academic work is still important for society.