On the evening of 31.05.2024, our founding couple, Horst W. Seidel and Erika Seidel, once again hosted the ceremonial awarding of the Kant Prize. Around 300 children, young adults, parents, teachers and other personalities from the world of Private Kant Schools attended the ceremony in the KANThall.

The duo of Penny Owen and Andrea Schott hosted the event and led the audience through an evening of highlights from the Internationalen Schule Berlin, Kant-Oberschule, Kant-Grundschule and Berlin International School. The hosts provided pointed humour, excellent punchlines, and – for the first time – received support from five dedicated junior presenters: Dania, Mia, Li, Eva and Mika. This year, special entertainment was provided by ISB Oberschule students Melike and Darien, who offered their interpretation of »Back to Black«. Also performing was the dance group »Dance Now!« from the ISB Grundschule and a surprising birthday singalong by class 4a, also from our ISB Grundschule, to mark the 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant’s birth.

Kant teachers submitted a total of 20 projects and other work from the categories »Literature/Philosophy«, »Social Commitment« and »Natural Sciences« – seven of these were honoured with the Kant Medal: including Erin’s »congenial painting« on Stefan Zweig’s chess novella from the ISB Oberschule, the B.I.S. Student Council team’s commitment to joining the network »School without Racism – School with Courage« and the natural science project »New Solution for space debris« by last year’s Kant Prize winner Rusheel (B.I.S. Secondary).

In the »Kant Special Prize« category, the Foundation was delighted to receive a total of eleven exciting and diverse nominations. The Kant Medal was awarded to three students: Audrey with her work »Gender Equality linked to Grammy Domination« (B.I.S. Primary), Joud for her exceptional artistic talent and constant endeavour to learn new skills in painting (ISB Grundschule) and Lara, who brings a special musical and vocal talent with which she inspires, among others, her schoolmates at B.I.S. Primary.

The highlight of the event was the awarding of the Kant Special Prize and the Kant Prize

After careful consideration, a jury team led by Head of the Kant Academy, Heike Waldschütz, decided in favour of the Economics Project by Class 3a from the ISB Grundschule as the winner of the Kant Special Prize. »It is fascinating to see how the young learners have worked together to develop their own system that, over time, creates agencies for marketing or business consulting in order to improve their ability to operate on the market,« said Heike Waldschütz.

Students from ISB Grundschule class 4a impressed the jury in the »Literature/Philosophy« category with their podcast project »What’s up with Kant?«. Inspired by the 300th anniversary of Kant’s birth, the children dedicated themselves to critically reflecting on his work and ultimately convinced all the members of the jury: »Can you imagine what a special achievement the class has accomplished? These children have just learnt about the categorical imperative and then applied it to their own lives and turned it into a wonderful podcast. We are absolutely overwhelmed,« said enthused jury member Heike Thürsam. For their excellent work, there was no question that the class of 26 students had to be honoured with the Kant Prize.

The Stiftung Private Kant-Schulen would like to congratulate all students for their special commitment – regardless of whether they have been honoured with a medal, the Kant Special Prize or the Kant Prize. Each individual nomination has once again highlighted the fact that the children and young adults of Kant overcome challenges every day with the dedication and support of their teachers.