Reinhard Mohn Prize

The Reinhard Mohn Prize has been awarded by the Bertelsmann Stiftung since 2011.[1] It recognizes internationally renowned individuals for their forward-looking solutions to social and political challenges.[2] Given in memory of Reinhard Mohn, who died in 2009, it succeeds the Carl Bertelsmann Prize, which was awarded from 1988 to 2008.[3][4]

Reinhard Mohn (2008)
Reinhard Mohn at the presentation of the 1997 Carl Bertelsmann Prize

Recipients of the prize include former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2013) and German President Joachim Gauck (2018).[5][6]

History
Liz Mohn and Kofi Annan at the 2013 Reinhard Mohn Prize
Award ceremony of the 2018 Reinhard Mohn Prize to Joachim Gauck

Reinhard Mohn initiated the Carl Bertelsmann Prize in 1988.[7][8] At the time, he was chairman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung management board and chairman of the Bertelsmann supervisory board.[4] As laid out in its founding statutes, the prize was meant to identify solutions to socio-political challenges in Germany and beyond.[9] International initiatives and projects played an important role in achieving that goal.[10][11] As Mohn explained, the Carl Bertelsmann Prize was intended to "stimulate thought processes and promote opportunities for creative people to develop."[12] Prizewinners initially received 300,000 Marks.[13] From the start, the award also envisioned funding for research and model projects.[12]

In its early years, the Carl Bertelsmann Prize focused on employer-employee relations in business organizations and society at large. In 1990, it addressed education policy topics for the first time.[14][15] In the years that followed, the prize attracted more and more public attention.[16] For example, awarding the prize to the two private English-language television stations Channel 4 and TVW 7 in 1994 produced a resounding media response.[17] The same was true for the prize's recognition of innovative school systems, such as those in Canada and Denmark.[18][19][20]

After addressing issues relating to educational, social, business and economic policy, the Carl Bertelsmann Prize focused on health care in 2000.[21] Democratic processes were a topic several times, especially those in Eastern Europe and South America.[22] By awarding the prize to Transparency International, the Bertelsmann Stiftung set an example in the fight against corruption.[23][24] Over the years, moreover, the Carl Bertelsmann Prize attracted greater attention in the political sphere; among others, Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily (2004), State Premier Jürgen Rüttgers (2005) and Federal President Horst Köhler (2006) all gave presentation speeches at the award ceremony.[25][26][27]

In 2008, the Bertelsmann Stiftung management board decided that the prize would be given every two years. The Carl Bertelsmann Prize was not awarded in 2009 as a result.[28] The prize was renamed in honor of Reinhard Mohn the same year, following his death.[3][4] German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at the award ceremony for the first Reinhard Mohn Prize in 2011,[29] recognizing Reinhard Mohn as an "outstanding entrepreneur in post-war German history."[30] While private and public institutions were recognized in the past, individuals have received the award since 2013.[31] The Reinhard Mohn Prize initially focused on civic engagement and direct democracy.[31] Diversity and migration have been recurring issues,[32][33] a topic the Bertelsmann Stiftung also addressed in the early 1990s.[34]

General

The Reinhard Mohn Prize remains one of the main responsibilities of Liz Mohn,[35] vice-chairwoman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's management board and its board of trustees.[36] The management board usually appoints a committee of researchers and other experts to select the prizewinners.[37] The results of the research carried out for the prize are published as studies.[38][39] In addition, the Bertelsmann Stiftung regularly organizes symposia to promote a public discussion of the related socio-political issues.[40][41][42] The Reinhard Mohn Prize is traditionally presented in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Bertelsmann Stiftung is based.[43]

Criticism

The awarding of the 1994 Carl Bertelsmann Prize to two private television stations (the Channel 4 of the UK and Seven Network of Australia) was linked to criticism of the regulations governing the German broadcasting system. The German daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung, for example, saw this as an unacceptable conflict of interest, since the Bertelsmann group itself holds an interest in broadcaster RTL.[44] Independently of this, the 1998 Carl Bertelsmann Prize was again used to call for a reorganization of Germany's media oversight authority. The declared goals included "more self-control and user skills."[45]

In 2010, author and journalist Thomas Schuler criticized the awarding of the 2002 Carl Bertelsmann Prize to Transparency International. He accused the Bertelsmann Stiftung of using the award to publicly advocate for greater transparency while not being sufficiently transparent itself.[46]

References
  1. Bernhard Hertlein (March 22, 2011), "Stiftung sucht aktive Bürger", Westfalen-Blatt (in German)
  2. Marc Schröder (January 26, 2017). "Reinhard-Mohn-Preis geht an ehemaligen Präsidenten Estlands". Neue Westfälische. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. "Neuer Preis erinnert an Reinhard Mohn", Neue Westfälische (in German), March 22, 2011
  4. "Gleicher Preis, neuer Name", Neue Westfälische (in German), May 1, 2010
  5. "Kofi Annan mit Reinhard-Mohn-Preis geehrt". Die Welt. November 7, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  6. "Ex-Bundespräsident geehrt: Reinhard-Mohn-Preis 2018 für Gauck". ZDF. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  7. Claus D. Chowanetz (April 16, 1988), "Aus Gütersloh: "Erfinder"-Preis für Vor-Denker", Westfalen-Blatt (in German)
  8. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis für herausragende Innovationen und erfolgversprechende Initiativen", PR Report (in German) (1132), p. 4, 1988
  9. Satzung des Carl Bertelsmann-Preises (in German), Gütersloh, 1988, 900867655
  10. Gunter Thelen (November 6, 2002), "Wir müssen uns engagieren", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 8
  11. Brian Gygi (September 22, 2003), "Der Carl-Bertelsmann-Preis geht an Hilti", Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German), p. 16
  12. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Biedenkopf würdigt Tarifvertragsparteien", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 5, April 18, 1988
  13. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Die Gesellschaft bewegen", Die Glocke (in German), April 16, 1988
  14. "Hochschulen: Carl Bertelsmann-Preis verliehen. Fortschritt an der Universität.", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 8, May 17, 1990
  15. Henry J. Heibutzki (November 2, 1990), "Hochschulen: Gefahr der Degeneration. Ein Trauma.", WirtschaftsWoche (in German), p. 104
  16. "Bertelsmann Stiftung: Teltschik setzt auf Expertenseminare und Projektförderung. Arbeit soll auf neue Länder ausgedehnt und Aktuelles schneller umgesetzt werden.", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 7, February 6, 1991
  17. Balts Livio (September 23, 1994), "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis für Channel 4 und TVW7 Perth – Kritik am Regelwerk des deutschen Rundfunksystems", Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German), p. 65
  18. Karl-Heinz Heinemann (September 26, 1996), "Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist innovativ im Land? Die Bertelsmann Stiftung ließ weltweit forschen und fand ein preiswürdiges Schulsystem in Kanada.", Frankfurter Rundschau (in German), p. 6
  19. Bernhard Hänel (August 21, 2008), "Kanada nutzt Vielfalt als Stärke", Neue Westfälische (in German)
  20. Thomas Veser (September 23, 1999), "Ein hilfreicher Blick über den deutschen Berufsbildungs-Zaun: Mit dem Carl Bertelsmann-Preis an Dänemark stößt die Stiftung die Debatte über das duale System erneut an.", Frankfurter Rundschau (in German), p. 8
  21. Joachim Güntner (September 7, 2000), "Preisgekrönte Gesundheitsversorgung: Carl Bertelsmann-Preis für Holland und die Schweiz", Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German), p. 15
  22. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Polen und Bolivien werden für Reformen ausgezeichnet", Frankfurter Rundschau (in German), p. 2, August 31, 2001
  23. "Preis für Transparency: Kampf gegen Korruption", Hamburger Morgenpost (in German), August 13, 2002
  24. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Transparency für Bemühen um Transparenz geehrt", Frankfurter Rundschau (in German), p. 10, September 6, 2002
  25. Stefan Brams (September 11, 2004), "Bewegte Behörden: Carl Bertelsmann-Preis an Aarhus Amt vergeben", Neue Westfälische (in German)
  26. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis: Grußwort des neuen Landesvaters", Neue Westfälische (in German), August 16, 2005
  27. "Vier führen die Bertelsmann Stiftung: Bundespräsident Horst Köhler als Festredner beim Carl Bertelsmann-Preis 2006", Neue Westfälische (in German), March 3, 2006
  28. "Bertelsmann spart, Stadthalle trauert", Neue Westfälische (in German), April 23, 2009
  29. Hans-Peter Siebenhaar (April 1, 2011), Handelsblatt (ed.), Bertelsmann Stiftung: Reinhard-Mohn-Preis geht nach Brasilien (in German), p. 79
  30. "Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich des Festakts zur Verleihung des ersten Reinhard-Mohn-Preises". Bundesregierung. June 16, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  31. "A Look Back: Awards and Prizewinners". Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  32. "Vordenkerin der Einwanderungspolitik: Reinhard-Mohn-Preis an Rita Süssmuth verliehen", Neue Westfälische (in German), p. 4, June 12, 2015
  33. "Reinhard-Mohn-Preis 2018 geht an Ex-Bundespräsidenten Gauck". Die Welt. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  34. "Bertelsmann Stiftung: Neue Perspektiven für die Marktwirtschaft gesucht", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 14, May 11, 1992
  35. "Liz Mohn wird Gütersloher Ehrenbürgerin". Stadt Gütersloh. June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  36. "Jahresabschluss 2016 (Gremien)" (PDF). Bertelsmann Stiftung. p. 8. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  37. "Reinhard Mohn Prize: Project Description". Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  38. "Carl Bertelsmann-Preis". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  39. "Reinhard-Mohn-Preis". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  40. "Symposium der Bertelsmann Stiftung: Plädoyer für die Ordnungspolitik im Kampf gegen Arbeitslosigkeit", Handelsblatt (in German), p. 5, September 7, 1995
  41. "Symposium der Bertelsmann-Stiftung / Wenig Dissens zwischen Fischer und ihrem Vorgänger", Ärzte Zeitung (in German), p. 1, September 7, 2000
  42. "Stiftung lässt nachhaltig denken: Im Vorfeld des Reinhard-Mohn-Preises diskutieren Experten Zukunftsfragen", Neue Westfälische (in German), November 7, 2013
  43. "Wohnen wie Kissinger und Gorbatschow", Gütersloher Zeitung (in German), p. 11, June 3, 2017
  44. Achim Baum (September 20, 1994), "Da schmunzelt der Laie", Die Tageszeitung (in German), p. 14, retrieved January 2, 2018
  45. "Medienkompetenz statt Kontrollwirrwarr", Horizont (in German), p. 56, September 17, 1998
  46. Thomas Schuler (September 16, 2010), "Hundert Fragen, keine Antwort: Bertelsmann tritt für Transparenz ein. Doch wie transparent ist Bertelsmann selbst?", Berliner Zeitung (in German), p. 34
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