Alena Buyx, Chair of the Ethics Council, receives German National Prize 2021

“The Corona crisis confronts state and society with existential questions and demands complex decisions. In this context, it is a great benefit for the stability of our democracy that Alena Buyx, a medical ethicist with strong communication skills, chairs the German Ethics Council,” said Thomas Mirow, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Deutsche Nationalstiftung and Chair of the jury in the foundation’s press release. “Ms Buyx regularly succeeds in bringing together the multiple perspectives of different scientific disciplines and communicating the result of these deliberations in a clear and accessible language.”

Alena Buyx feels very honoured by this distinction and the recognition thus accorded to the work of the German Ethics Council: “In my opinion, a debate based on mutual esteem is key to developing joint positions despite differing points of view,” she emphasises in a statement to the Deutsche Nationalstiftung. “This includes making as many voices heard as possible, first understanding each other and then agreeing on a common path based on plurality. This is the approach we try to follow in the Ethics Council. Especially in the current situation, this common struggle seems very important to me for social cohesion. I consider this prize a high recognition and an incentive to continue on this path.”

The members of the German Ethics Council and the staff of its office warmly congratulate Alena Buyx for receiving this prize.

Since 1997, the Deutsche Nationalstiftung honours people with the German National Prize who have rendered outstanding service to promoting solidarity in Germany and to the country’s identity in a united Europe. The foundation was established in 1993 by former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and close companions in the context of German reunification, and is a non-party, independent and non-profit institution. It promotes the debate on the role and responsibility of the German nation in a peaceful and united Europe. The Federal President is its patron.