The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office of Berlin cordially invites you to the ceremonial award ceremony of the Silvio Meier Prize 2025.
Program: Awards ceremony, live music with Paul Geigerzähler and subsequent get-together
This year’s Silvio Meier Prize goes to Theatre maker, author and activist Simone Dede Ayivi and the Soup & Music Association.
About the history of the award: The prize bears the name of Silvio Meier, a passionate fighter for freedom and political emancipation. It honors individuals, groups, initiatives, or projects in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district that are or have been actively fighting against social paternalism, disempowerment, discrimination, and social and cultural exclusion.
The prize's namesake Silvio Meier was a man who courageously stood up for freedom and democracy. He was just as active in the GDR's peace and human rights movement as he was in his commitment to fighting right-wing extremism. Silvio Meier was stabbed to death by neo-Nazis in 1992 at the age of 27. With the Silvio Meier Prize, the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district commemorates a courageous individual who passionately advocated for tolerance and takes a clear stance against right-wing extremism, racism, exclusion, and discrimination. It also aims to encourage active, non-violent advocacy for freedom, political, and cultural emancipation, regardless of origin, religion, social status, or sexual identity, and to support and honor corresponding action.
The award winners
As a theatre maker, Simone Dede Ayivi has produced a variety of projects on anti-racist, post-colonial, and feminist topics in recent years. She succeeds in penetrating relevant content in public discourse and positioning herself between a wide variety of artistic and civic contexts using creative methods. Her involvement with the initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland eV is characterized by her dedication to an anti-racist society. As a co-author in publications such as "Your Homeland is Our Nightmare," she calls on those not affected by structural discrimination to show solidarity with those who suffer from it. In her column "Diskurspogo" in the taz newspaper, she knows how to open up empathetic perspectives on activist debates and topics: articles such as "Activism - Lovesickness" and "What for Real Fans" provide new perspectives on familiar topics without falling into clichés. She supports initiatives within the framework of Black Lives Matter and projects related to the decolonization of public space. With her ability to bring people together and inspire them for a common idea, she has repeatedly demonstrated how political theater and engagement can move people.
The Soup & Music Association was founded in 2009 to organize the non-commercial street festival of the same name in Friedrichshain. For over 15 years, the association has offered local political actors, projects, initiatives, artists, and all participants a forum for discussion, networking, and exchange, inviting everyone to celebrate the district's diversity together on one day. In addition, other event formats on current local political issues help to present these topics to a broader public in a low-threshold manner and counteract cultural and social inequalities, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and other forms of exclusion. Suppe & Mucke thus contributes to a critical examination of important urban development and socio-political issues, particularly in Friedrichshain, and is repeatedly a key player in the fight against right-wing activities and actors in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
Chairman of the District Council Werner Heck"In 2025, with the awarding of the Silvio Meier Prize, we will again take a stand against racism, exclusion, discrimination, and right-wing extremism and honor the commitment to a solidarity-based, democratic, and diverse society. This year in particular, we received numerous proposals and applications that reflected the vibrant and diverse commitment in our district."
District Mayor Clara Herrmann"We are delighted to honor two award winners, theater maker, author, and activist Simone Dede Ayivi and the Suppe und Mucke association, who have been committed to diversity and togetherness in our district for many years in various ways. Current political and social developments demonstrate how important it is to take a stand against racism and discrimination."