Dr. Locardia Shayamunda of Zimbabwe was awarded the 15th Peter Hünermann Prize by the KAAD Foundation in 2025 for her social and church-based commitment to justice and peace, as well as for her work in the field of environmental science. A doctor of environmental science, she has shaped the work of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Harare for many years and is one of the key figures in her country on issues of education and justice. Her work combines issues of sustainable development with education, human rights, and participation, and includes projects on climate adaptation, rural development, and the empowerment of local communities.

Since her return to Zimbabwe, Locardia Shayamunda has also been a key contact for the KAAD network in the country. As chair of the partner committee, she supports KAAD’s work on the ground and, through her experience and network, strengthens the exchange between the Church, academia, and civil society.

Prof. Dr. Guillermo Kerz and Dr. Ana María Bonet were awarded the 14th KAAD Foundation Prize for their academic, religious, and social contributions. Guillermo Kerz is Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the Universidad Católica de Santa Fe in Argentina and is shaping the field of public health through international networking. He played a key role in founding the “Salud Global” alumni group and supports the reintegration of Argentine KAAD alumni who have completed the Heidelberg Master’s program in “International Health” and work at UCSF for several years after their return. Ana María Bonet conducts research at the Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and teaches law at the Instituto de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales del Litoral in Santa Fe. Her work combines health management and environmental law with the concept of integral ecology; at the same time, she played a key role in establishing the alumni group “Ecologia Integral.”
Together, the two award recipients contribute to promoting academic life in the Santa Fe region and strengthening KAAD’s international networks between Argentina, Latin America, and Germany.

Prof. Dr. Oleh Turiy of Ukraine was awarded the 13th Peter Hünermann Prize by the KAAD Foundation in 2024 for his academic and ecclesiastical contributions to his homeland. The renowned church historian holds the chair of church history at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and serves as its vice rector for external relations. As a representative of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he is committed to scholarly research in church history and ecumenical dialogue, and he advocates for a democratic Ukraine. For more than twenty years, he has been a reliable partner for KAAD in Ukraine.

The Germanist and philosopher was honored for his outstanding academic work in the fields of epistemology and aesthetics, particularly for his studies of mechanical philosophy and its transition into modern natural sciences. Babu Thaliath completed his doctorate with a KAAD fellowship in Freiburg and Basel. This was followed by research stays in Cambridge and Berlin. At Christ College in Bangalore, India, he developed a new doctoral program. Since 2013, he has been a professor of German studies and philosophy at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India.

The 2022 award was presented to four Lebanese partners of KAAD. This marks the second time that an association within the KAAD network—the Lebanon Partner Committee—has been honored. Professors Dr. Ziad Fahed, Dr. Roula Talhouk, and Dr. Souad Slim, together with Reverend Dr. Jules Boutros, are active members of this partner committee. In recent years, they have, among other things, played a key role in establishing our third-country scholarship program for Syrian and Iraqi refugees as well as Lebanese sector experts , advocated for peaceful coexistence among different religions, and supported those affected by the devastating explosion in Beirut in August 2020.

The peace and conflict researcher was honored for her commitment to educational, political, and church-related causes in her home country, particularly for her contributions to resolving ethnic conflicts and promoting reconciliation. She has served for many years as vice president of the Kenyan KAAD partner organization.

Born in 1957, Lauro Sitzmann has made significant contributions to the healthcare system in the rural south of his native Paraguay by establishing a cooperative healthcare and insurance system, as well as training opportunities for it, ensuring that all segments of the population—especially the most vulnerable—are included. Following his KAAD fellowship in the mid-1980s, he was also a member of the former KAAD partner committee for Paraguay in the 1990s. He has consistently supported our work and, in recent years, has been actively involved in networking KAAD health scientists within the framework of specialist groups.

His projects centered on the “Sanatorio Alemán” were also the subject of a WDR documentary. Prof. Heinz Neuser, a long-standing member of our Academic Committee who frequently collaborated with Lauro Sitzmann, summarizes his achievements as follows: “A hallmark of his work in southern Paraguay is his social and scientific commitment, which encompasses both modern, adapted medicine and community-oriented health education, combined with agricultural development work aimed at integrated poverty reduction.”

With the awarding of the prize to the Myanmar alumni association “MyanKAAD,” the honor was bestowed for the first time not on an individual but on a group. The association is the result of a collaboration that began in 2001 between KAAD, the country’s Bishops’ Conference, the Diocese of Regensburg (which provides the majority of funding for scholarships outside Germany), and the Catholic Assumption University (Assumption Business Administration College) in Bangkok. Today, the association is regarded as an important church and civil society actor in a context where Catholics are a strong minority and in a rapidly changing society plagued by ethnic and religious conflicts.

Rafal Dutkiewicz was one of the very first recipients of a scholarship under our new Eastern Europe program in 1990–91. Originally a doctor of logic, his political achievements lie primarily in his work to deepen Poland’s integration into the EU, to preserve the cultural memory of his city, Wrocław, and to promote civil society in Poland. In 2017, he was also awarded the prestigious German National Prize.

His inventions and innovations in the field of cardiac implants for children have saved the lives of thousands of people, not only at the “Cardiac Center” he founded in his hometown of La Paz. Franz-Peter Freudenthal was a KAAD scholarship recipient between 1993 and 1996 and laid the groundwork for his later research at RWTH Aachen University. Franz-Peter Freudenthal combined inventive spirit with technical expertise. The education he received in Germany fostered his talent and led him to continue his research in Bolivia. His achievements in medical technology and cardiology are not expensive European high-tech solutions, but rather combine Andean craft traditions with modern medical technology.

Misheck Masamvu, a painter originally from Zimbabwe who works there, is the first artist to be awarded the Peter Hünermann Foundation Prize. Masamvu was born in 1980 in the mining village of Penhalonga, studied first at the “Atelier Delta” in Harare, and then, from 2005 to 2007, at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts on a KAAD scholarship. The great and expressive talent of the then-young artist “caught the eye.” He is regarded as a leading figure of a new generation and school of painters in his country, has already participated in several major international exhibitions (e.g., the Venice and São Paulo Biennales), and actively supports young talent in Southern Africa, for example through the artist studios at “Village Unho,” which he established together with his wife Gina.

In the 1990s, Hiyam Marzouqa specialized in pediatric intensive care medicine with the help of a KAAD scholarship. In 1994, she returned to Bethlehem as a specialist.

In 2006, she took over as director of the Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem. Since then, she has been committed to improving healthcare for the most vulnerable in a politically challenging environment, an effort that is also recognized as a contribution to peace in a conflict-ridden region.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI visited the children’s hospital together with President Mahmoud Abbas. At the time, Abbas described the clinic as an “important building block for the Palestinian healthcare system.” […] The people living around Bethlehem know what they owe to Christian dedication to children’s health: for example, the fact that today all infants in the Bethlehem region can receive a hearing test. The overwhelming acceptance of the Caritas Baby Hospital is due in no small part to the credible leadership style of Dr. Hiyam Marzouqa. With her medical expertise, her persistent dedication, and her tactful and caring manner, she has earned the hospital the highest respect.

Born in 1971, this graduate engineer and doctor of theology sees himself as a bridge-builder between Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Georgia. After studying theology in Lublin, he earned his doctorate in 2003 under Prof. Pröpper in Münster (with a scholarship from Renovabis) on the “Theological Relevance of Viktor E. Frankl’s Existential Analysis and Logotherapy.” In May 2008, he was appointed rector of the “Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani Institute for Theology, Philosophy, History, and Culture.” Under his leadership, the institute received the status of a state-recognized and accredited university in 2009. In 2009, Dr. Vardidze was recommended for KAAD funding by the Apostolic Administrator of the Caucasus, Bishop P. Giuseppe Pasotto, to carry out a project aimed at developing the foundations for theological studies in Georgia and putting them into practice.

As president of the partner committee, Dr. Vardidze assisted numerous applicants with their applications on site, serves as an advisor to the KAAD in the selection of candidates, and also looks after the alumni community in Georgia. In the reporting year, for example, he organized an international KAAD conference at his university—including for Georgian and Armenian alumni—on the topic “International Scientific Cooperation as a Driver of Sustainable Development in the Caucasus.”

Elias Lewi was a KAAD doctoral fellow until 1997. He earned his doctorate in geophysics from the Technical University of Darmstadt with a “summa cum laude” distinction and returned to Ethiopia in 1998. After several years as a co-owner of a company specializing in geodetic surveys, he accepted a position as a lecturer at TU Darmstadt in 2001. In 2006, he moved back to Ethiopia permanently; since then, he has been teaching at Addis Ababa University (AAU) and conducting research at the AAU Geophysical Observatory. Elias Lewi emphasizes that his decision to return to Ethiopia stemmed from a “commitment” to his homeland, even though he would have had other opportunities in Europe or North America after his time working in Germany.

After successfully completing a master’s degree in “Vocational and Adult Education in Development Cooperation” in Dresden, Stephanus Mulyadi returned to his homeland in 2008 and has since served as executive director of the Catholic social welfare organization “Yayasan Sosial Bina Sejahtera” (YSBS). Today, many people in the Cicalap region—one of the poorest in Java—are reaping the benefits of his studies. Stephanus Mulyadi brought a breath of fresh air to the organization; he initiated and successfully launched a variety of new projects: Leadership training for young Christians, new training centers, a “nature school” focused on sustainable development, cooperation with major educational institutions and companies on vocational training for disadvantaged young people, and the improvement of infrastructure in the region through community participation.

This also gave rise to a Misereor-funded project aimed at fostering interfaith dialogue among the local population. Mulyadi was particularly active as a volunteer with KONTAK, the association of Indonesian KAAD alumni and KMKI students (Catholic Indonesian Student Family). Together with KONTAK, he launched a so-called “goat scholarship” that helps disadvantaged students from Cilacap while also teaching them to become responsible individuals: goats are entrusted to the students, who care for them. Some of the offspring are accepted as payment in lieu of tuition. Other young goats are passed on to younger students, ensuring the project is self-sustaining. In all these activities, Stephanus Mulyadi utilized and expanded the contacts and networks he had established in Germany in a particularly exemplary manner for the benefit of the local population.

Stephanus Mulyadi passed away completely unexpectedly in March 2022 at the age of only 55.