The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has honoured the Cameroonian German scholar Albert Gouaffo with the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize. The prize includes 10,000 euros and a research stay in Germany. The Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize, which has been honouring young researchers in German studies since 2011, goes to Elaine Cristina Roschel Nunes from Brazil. She receives 3,000 euros and a research stay in Germany. 

"We warmly congratulate Professor Albert Gouaffo and Elaine Cristina Roschel Nunes on this honour. Professor Gouaffo's research makes an important contribution to the recognition of colonial violence and the historically sensitive treatment of African cultural assets. His work on the German colonial period in West Africa also sheds light on a dark chapter of German history. Elaine Nunes promotes the training of German teachers with her focus and strengthens German-Brazilian academic relations. We are proud to present them with these awards and wish them both continued success in their academic careers," said DAAD President Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee. International German studies and the teaching of the German language are also crucial for the development of global networks focussing on Germany. They are also becoming increasingly important in the recruitment of international students and specialists. 

Cameroon, Saarland, Brazil and a research prize

Professor Dr Albert Gouaffo, a literary and cultural scholar at the University of Dschang in western Cameroon, researches the culture of remembrance, post-colonialism and German-African literature. He studied, completed his doctorate and habilitated at Saarland University. He has been a professor at Dschang University since 2006. With a wide range of publications in German, French and English, he promotes intercultural German studies and the examination of the German colonial period in Cameroon. As the founder of a German studies journal and Vice President of the association "German Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa", he is also committed to networking German studies on the continent. 

Dr Elaine Cristina Roschel Nunes teaches at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil and researches mentoring approaches in the training of German teachers. Her dissertation was awarded the Brazilian Luiz Antônio Marcuschi Prize for outstanding academic theses and dissertations in the field of literature and linguistics in 2023. She is particularly committed to German teacher training and the examination of socio-political issues in the Brazilian-German context.

Honouring excellent Germanists for 30 years

Since 1995, the Grimm Prizes have honoured foreign academics who have rendered outstanding services to international cooperation in the field of German studies and German as a foreign language. The prizes are funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

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Award ceremony and press service

The Grimm Awards will be presented by DAAD Vice President Muriel Helbig on Wednesday, 23 July at 6 p.m. at the University of Graz as part of the congress of the International Association for German Studies. Following the ceremony, the DAAD, together with the Goethe-Institut and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, will host a joint reception.
Journalists are cordially invited to attend the award ceremony. The award winners will be available for interviews in advance. Please register by 22 July by sending an e-mail to presse@daad.de.