The Sidney Prize and Other PrizesThe Sidney Prize and Other Prizes
Sidney Prize is awarded monthly to an outstanding piece of journalism. Anyone may nominate a work by visiting our submission portal. Nominations close the last day of the month and a selection committee reviews the submissions. The winning essay is announced on the second Wednesday of each month.
The Sidney Hillman Prizes were established in memory of the founder of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, who believed that a free press is essential to a democracy. The prizes seek to honor journalists who illuminate the great issues of our time, such as the search for a basis for lasting peace, the quest for better housing, medical care and employment opportunities, and the battle against discrimination in all its forms.
In his brilliant article “The Quiet German,” George Packer reveals how Angela Merkel is changing the way world leaders operate. It is a remarkable study of the power and potential of the most powerful woman in the world, showing how she moves beyond the image of the hero on horseback or the romantic visionary to become a hard-headed plodder who works tirelessly behind the scenes to make her policies a success.
This year’s Sydney Peace Prize was awarded to Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, founders of the human rights movement Black Lives Matter. The group was honoured for advancing the principles of peace with justice and non-violence. The prize is a legacy of WC Wentworth, who donated the money to establish it in 1854.
The Sidney DeVere Brown Prize and the Mikiso Hane Prize are awarded to undergraduate students for the best papers written while they were in school. The essays are reviewed by scholars in their field of study. The winners are also given the opportunity to publish their papers in Wittenberg’s East Asian Studies Journal.
Since 1596, Sidney College has made a huge impact on British culture in all fields. Its alumni have included Nobel Prize-winning scientists, religious reformers, political philosophers and economists, politicians, business people, military commanders, writers, painters and musicians. Its buildings are a national treasure, with Elizabethan brickwork, the charming Cloister Court, beautiful medieval cellars and stunning rococo halls.
The annual Iwanter Prize is an unrestricted $2,000 award to one graduating senior who demonstrates a high level of scholarship in the humanities. The prize was established by an endowment to the University of Wisconsin Foundation from the estate of Sidney Iwanter, an alumnus (BA History, 1971). A list of past Iwanter Prize recipients can be found here.