The 2025 Goethe Medal was awarded to Osman Kavala, Li Yuan, and David Van Reybrouck for their contributions to international cultural exchange. The award recognizes work that breaks cultural barriers, promotes human rights and democracy, and fosters shared understanding across languages and disciplines. The medal ceremony will be held in Weimar on August 28, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birthday. Osman Kavala remains influential despite a life sentence and long detention; he founded Anadolu Kultur in 2022, co-founded the Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and supported Armenian–Turkish cultural initiatives to promote cross-border dialogue. Kavala was first arrested in 2017 over accusations tied to the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
Osman Kavala remains influential, despite life sentence "His lifelong commitment to civil society is based on the conviction that art and culture are crucial for dialogue, mutual understanding and the creation of a more just and inclusive society," wrote the Goethe Instit of this year's Goethe Prize co-winner, Osman Kavala. In 2022, the philanthropist and human rights defender founded the Turkish NGO, Anadolu Kultur, which works at the intersection of arts and culture, civil society and human rights advocacy
Imprisoned Turkish cultural promoter and social justice activist, Osman Kavala, along with Chinese scholar and German language expert, Li Yuan, and the Belgian archaeologist and author David Van Reybrouck, have been awarded the 2025 Goethe Medal. Whether they're breaking down cultural barriers, fighting for human rights and democracy, or finding a common language, the trio habe beem honored by Germany's global cultural body, the Goethe Instut, for their outstanding services to international cultural exchange.
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