Jena Prize for Civil Courage
Shujaa Almohamad was awarded the 24th Jena Prize for Civil Courage this year. He was honored in the historic town hall. He showed civil courage by intervening when a group of three German men attacked a man from Afghanistan. He chased the men away, called the police and an ambulance and took care of the victim. He later testified to the police as a witness.
Shujaa Almohamad is a young man from Syria who arrived in Germany in July 2023. He has already campaigned for the closure of the camp in Hermsdorf (2024) and co-founded and established a Thuringian network of refugees for refugees. Shujaa Almohamad acted very courageously in the situation described above, because the violence of the three men could have been directed against him very quickly. He acted quickly and correctly, and he would do so again at any time.
The laudatory speech was given by Bo Osdrowski, who is a friend of his and nominated him for the award. This year's prize, endowed with 1,000 euros, is sponsored by Jenoptik AG, represented on this evening by CEO Stefan Traeger.
Charlotte Figulla Prize
Together with the Jena Prize for Civil Courage, the Thuringia-wide school and youth competition Charlotte Figulla Prize is awarded. The changing themes of the prize are intended to encourage discussion of the topics of democracy, society, open-mindedness, tolerance and combating group-related misanthropy. The theme of this year's prize was LIBERATION
This year's winners were
- The students of the 9th grade art class at the Werkstattschule Jena, for their picture collection "Das alles ist Befreiung für mich".
- The participants of the practice-oriented measure "PERSPEKTIVE" of the Bildungswerk BLITZ e.V. from Saalfeld, for their collage "The Art of Liberation"
- Lea Jungk, 13th grade of the Berufliches Gymnasium Gotha, for her painting "Escape Game"
- Valentin Wu, Year 12 at Wenigenjena Community School, for his piece of music "Glimpse of Freedom"
Ayat Al Hamadi, 14 years old, for her poem "The Chain"
- Barbare Bukia, 9th grade at Wenigenjena Community School, for her painting "Explosion of Silence"
- Charlotte Näther, Year 11 at Otto-Schott-Gymnasium Jena, for her painting "Liberation from Worry - The First Night without Fear"