Annual Meeting of the Humboldt Foundation with Federal President Wulff and Federal Chancellor Merkel

Federal President, Christian Wulff, receiving Humboldtians and their families at the 2011 Annual Meeting in Berlin. Photo: Humboldt-Stiftung/David Ausserhofer

The Annual Meeting of the Foundation, which took place from 27 to 29 June in Berlin, brought together over 600 researchers and their families from approximately 75 countries.

It was the first time that a current head of the German government attended the Annual Meeting: in her speech at Freie Universität Berlin, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined the role the Humboldt Foundation and its network play in policy-making. Today, more than ever, said Merkel, politicians needed academics to provide advice and help solve problems.

Following her speech, Merkel presented the Humboldt Alumni Awards for innovative networking initiatives. For the third time, the Foundation recognised three projects designed to promote academic and cultural ties between Germany and the home countries of Humboldt Alumni or strengthen collaboration in the respective countries and regions. The awards are valued at 25,000 EUR each and were conferred for the following three projects:

The creation of an information and advisory network for Japanese junior researchers interested in a research stay in Germany. This project was developed by Japanese jurist Seigo Hirowatari of the School of Law at Senshu University in Tokyo.
The publication of a periodical called “Russland und Deutschland. Eine wissenschaftliche Humboldt-Zeitschrift” (Russia and Germany. A scientific Humboldt journal), which aims to forge links between Humboldtians in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The project was initiated by Russian ethnologist Tatjana Ilarionova of the State University of Management in Moscow.
The creation of a transatlantic research network to examine the humanities-related aspects of environmental research. Sabine Wilke, Professor of German at the Department of Germanics at the University of Washington in Seattle, is promoting this project.

Federal President Christian Wulff received the Humboldtians and their families in the garden of the European School of Management and Technology at Berlin’s Schlossplatz. During the reception, Wulff presented the Philipp Franz von Siebold Award to Japanese quantum physicist Hidetoshi Katori.

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