Osman Kavala will receive ifa Award for the Dialogue of Cultures

Our friend, human rights activist, and cultural patron Osman Kavala, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkey, will be presented with this year’s ifa Award for the Dialogue of Cultures.

Kavala has been imprisoned in Turkey since October 2017. The Turkish authorities accuse him of espionage and complicity in the military coup that failed to topple the government of July 2016. He is also accused of involvement in the riots that broke out during the protests against the planned demolition of Gezi Park in 2013. The European Court of Human Rights called for his release in December 2019. However, in April 2022 the Istanbul court sentenced Kavala to life imprisonment in solitary confinement without the possibility of parole. The judgment is not yet final.

With the ifa Award for the Dialogue of Cultures, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen recognises the contribution of individuals and institutions to fostering transcultural relations through their social, socio-political or artistic work.

Supporting the freedom of the arts, civil society and science are key elements of ifa’s mission. Today, these freedoms are increasingly under threat, with nationalism, populism and authoritarian tendencies just some of the challenges they face, even in democracies.

The award will be presented at a ceremony at the Allianz Forum in Berlin on 10 November 2022. Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, Member of the German Bundestag and former President of the Bundestag, will deliver the laudatory speech.