The DAAD Prize for the year 2024 goes to Brazilian student Manuela Rios Bernardes. She is studying for a Master's degree in International Business and Economics and is being awarded this prize for her social and intercultural commitment as well as her good academic performance. She is currently writing her Master's thesis. Manuela Rios Bernardes is socially committed to the rights of stateless people: In the team of Maha Mamo, a human rights activist and former stateless person, she participated in workshops and contributed to the development of a strategy paper to support stateless women who were victims of human trafficking. She assisted in the legal efforts to obtain citizenship for a boy born in Lebanon and helped to raise public awareness of the issue of stateless people.
The ceremonial presentation of the DAAD Prize to Ms. Rios Bernardes will take place on 22 January 2025 as part of the New Year's Reception.
About the DAAD Prize
The prize of the German Academic Exchange Service, endowed with 1000 euros, has been awarded for more than ten years to foreign students with outstanding achievements at German universities. It is intended to help put faces to the large numbers of foreign students at German universities and to connect them with stories. This makes it clear that every single foreign student takes a piece of Germany back home with them and leaves something of themselves in Germany - an enrichment for both sides.