The Ida Somazzi Prize is a Swiss award established in 1966 to honor individuals and organizations working in the fields of education and training, peace and freedom, human rights and human dignity, as well as gender equality. The prize is awarded almost annually by the Somazzi Foundation (known as the Dr. Ida Somazzi Foundation until 2011), based in Bern.
History The foundation was established in 1964 by the Swiss Working Group "Woman and Democracy" in memory of women's rights activist Ida Somazzi. The foundation's finances were largely supported by a donation from Maria Felchlin, a physician from Olten.
The Swiss Working Group "Woman and Democracy" was a non-partisan association composed of individual members and women's organizations, founded in 1933 in response to the rise of fascism in Italy and National Socialism in Germany. After World War II, the organization was reorganized and, until its dissolution in 1998, focused primarily on civic and political education for women, as well as the fight against communism as part of Switzerland's spiritual defense efforts. Ida Somazzi, one of the key figures in the organization's founding alongside feminist activist Maria Fierz, served as its president from 1949 to 1963 and played a crucial role in its post-war reorganization.
Recipients list The following individuals and organizations have received the Ida Somazzi Prize:
1966: Alice Meyer 1968: Edgar Bonjour 1968: Verena Marty 1969: Fritz Wartenweiler 1970: Jeanne Hersch 1971: Helene Thalmann-Antenen 1973: Gerda Stocker-Meyer 1974: Peter Sager 1975: Suzanne Oswald 1976: Betty Wehrli-Knobel 1977: Elsie Attenhofer 1978: Lotti Ruckstuhl 1979: Hermann Böschenstein 1981: Lili Nabholz-Haidegger 1983: Gertrude Girard-Montet 1985: Marie Boehlen 1985: François Bondy 1988: Mariella Mehr 1989: Inge Sprenger Viol 1992: Gertrud Heinzelmann 1995: Tula Roy, Gitta Gsell, and Josi Meier 1996: Branka Goldstein 1997: Hélène Charmillot-Vonlanthen 1999: FrauenMusikForum FMF 2000: Liliana Heimberg 2001: Gret Haller 2001: Editrices d'Olympe. Feministische Arbeitshefte zur Politik 2004: Fraueninformationszentrum Zürich FIZ 2005: Inga Vatter Jensen 2006: 1000 Femmes pour le prix Nobel de la paix 2005 2007: Elsbeth Pulver 2007: Katharina von Salis 2010: Arbeitsgruppe Berner Architektinnen und Planerinnen ABAP 2011: Zainap Gaschaeva 2012: Michèle Roten 2013: Yin Yuzhen 2014: Steff La Cheffe 2015: Verein Netzwerk Asyl Aargau 2016: Tove Soiland 2017: Amal Naser 2018: Infra Bern 2019: Bla*sh
References
Bibliography
Stocker-Meyer, Gerda: Die Schweizerische Arbeitsgemeinschaft «Frau und Demokratie». Von ihrer Geschichte, ihrem Standort, ihrer Arbeit, 1984.