Criteria of the ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize
History of the Prize
The ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize has its origins in 2014 with the introduction of the project ‘New Narrative for Europe’ initiated by then President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso (2004–2014). Artists, intellectuals, and scientists were invited to contribute to a reflection on the European story. Inspired by this initiative, the Prize stands for an understanding of Europe as an intellectual and emotional entity based on common, yet not necessarily always exactly the same, convictions.
Over the course of the years, the Prize has recognised eminent scholars and intellectuals across Europe whose work embodies significant contributions to the cultural and intellectual values of Europe and to ideas of European integration.
Past personalities who have attended the Prize ceremonies include European Commission President José Manuel Barroso himself (2014); European Commissioner for Science and Research Carlos Moedas (2015); European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Relations and Enlargement Johannes Hahn (2016); European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel (2018); European Research Council President Jean-Bourgignon (2019), among others.
The ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize is part of the larger mission of ALLEA to not only promote the intellectual, scientific, and cultural richness of Europe, but also to support and acknowledge scholarly contributions that add to these valuable European assets.
Prize Laureate
- The Prize recognizes researchers or intellectuals whose work has contributed significantly to the advancement of Europe. A laureate’s work is ideally of an interdisciplinary nature and exhibits a remarkable and demonstrable contribution to the processes behind European development, integration and identity
- The Prize seeks to honour an individual with a background in any discipline – no formal restriction shall apply regarding the academic field.
- Nominations can include individuals who are still professionally active whose career paths may not be strictly academic, but whose work exhibits a strong and demonstrable contribution to the advancement of Europe.
Jury
The jury is chaired by the President of ALLEA and composed of ALLEA Board Members and individuals elected by the ALLEA Board Members. The jury collects nominations, evaluates the merits of the candidates and identifies the Prize laureates.
Who can nominate?
Only ALLEA member academies can nominate candidates for the Prize. The nominated candidate does not need to be a member of an ALLEA member academy. An individual ALLEA member academy can nominate more than one candidate.
Documents
The submission for the Prize candidate must include:
- Official letter to the Prize Jury signed by a representative of the ALLEA member academy with a short motivation on the nomination regarding the Prize criteria (max. 2–3 pages);
- Candidate’s resume (max. 2–3 pages).
Timeline
The ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize is granted annually. The call for nominations is announced at the yearly ALLEA General Assembly and then through a special newsletter sent to all ALLEA member academies. The submission for the Prize candidate deadline is 30 September. In October–November, the ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize Jury selects the laureate. The nomination is announced in December.
Handover Ceremony
The Prize handover ceremony is traditionally organised during the ALLEA General Assembly. Specific dates and venue will be announced in February–March.
Contact details
Questions concerning the Prize should be addressed to ALLEA Liaison Officer, Dagmara Bożek: bozek@allea.org.
