On 5 March, the IWM hosted the annual Emma Goldman Awards, co-organized with the independent, Netherlands-based FLAX Foundation. The awards are named after feminist Emma Goldman (1869-1940), who is considered one of the most important figures in American anarchism and the early peace movement. Her wildly popular speeches and prolific writings dealt with the themes of militarism, fascism, capitalism, migration, marriage, free love, and homosexuality. In recognition of her legacy, each year the FLAX Foundation awards two prizes: the Emma Goldman Awards (EUR 50,000) and the Emma Goldman Snowball Awards (EUR 10,000). Since 2020, they have been awarded annually to selected candidates resident in Europe (regardless of their citizenship or immigration status) for their outstanding achievements and contributions to research on feminism and inequality.
This year's award ceremony was opened by IWM Permanent Fellow Martha Bucholc, followed by two keynotes from Adriana Zaharijević and Anna Carastathis. In her personal reflection on the protest year 2025 in Serbia, Zaharijević examined a rebellion that challenges the Serbian political system, exploring the power of "Brave Bodies in The Street," while Carastathis drew on her experiences to reflect on the positionality of the independent researcher, within and outside institutions.
Subsequently, IWM Permanent Fellow Mieke Verloo announced the awardees.
The recipients of this year's Emma Goldman Snowball Awards are:
- Vivi Vold, Indigenous scholar, artist, and filmmaker
- Priscilla Sarkwa Akomprah, Feminist researcher, formerly KIT Institute Amsterdam
- Lianne Mulder, Activist and researcher, IOO Amsterdam
- Lauretta Macauley, Founder of the Athens-based United African Women Organisation
- Ionara Silva, Researcher, Universidade Lusófona/CICANT and journalist, Público
- Hebh Jamal, Freelance journalist
- Josephine Yole Signorelli, Cartoonist and activist
- Inshah Malik, Associate professor, New Vision University, Tbilisi
The recipients of this year's Emma Goldman Awards are:
- Ama Kissi, Clinical psychologist and co-leader of the Health Equity Advancement Lab, Ghent
- Birgit Poopuu, Associate professor, CEE Security Hub, Tallinn University
- Daphne Budasz, Historian and project researcher, House of European History
- Elizabeth Löwe Hunter, Independent researcher, educator, and cultural activist
- Nina Perger, Assistant professor of theoretical sociology, University of Ljubljana
- Raia Apostolova, Assistant professor of sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Raquel Lima, Poet, scholar, and activist
- Ruth Pearce, Senior lecturer in community development, University of Glasgow
- Yasmeen Daher, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Potsdam, co-director of Febrayer Network
Each year, two awardees are additionally granted an Emma Goldman Fellowship. We are delighted to announce that Ama Kissi and Birgit Poopuu have been selected to spend a month each at the Institute in the 2026–2027 academic year as Emma Goldman Fellows.
Watch the recording of the award ceremony here:
All photos © Klaus Ranger
