Overview
- The Landtag of Hesse announced the new Verfassungspreis and its two inaugural recipients on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
- The award will be given every five years, carries no cash prize, and includes a certificate plus a bronze sculpture by Kassel artist Stephan Balkenhol; the first ceremony is set for October 28, 2026 at the Kurhaus Wiesbaden.
- Mai Thi Nguyen‑Kim was honored for reaching large, especially young, audiences with online and television science formats that explain facts and warn against disinformation and populism.
- Gunter Demnig received the prize for his Stolpersteine project, a roughly 30‑year effort that has placed about 116,000 memorial stones in nearly 1,900 municipalities across Europe to remember Nazi victims.
- Tied to the 80th anniversary of Hesse's 1946 constitution, the prize formalizes a state effort to recognize work that sustains democratic life and is likely to raise public visibility for science communication and local remembrance initiatives.