The Intergenerational Justice Prize is awarded by the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations in collaboration with the British Intergenerational Foundation to scholars from various disciplines to promote research—particularly by young researchers—on intergenerational justice. The prize is awarded every two years on rotating themes.The prize was initiated by the Stiftung Apfelbaum (Appletree Foundation), which also funds the prize money. The aim of the Intergenerational Justice Prize is to promote discussion on intergenerationally just policies, provide them with a scientific foundation, and open up new avenues for action for decision-makers. We would particularly like to encourage young researchers up to the age of 35 to participate; however, there is no age limit.

The Intergenerational Justice Prize 2025/26 on the subject “Gerontocracy and Presentism: Two Problems for Intergenerational Justice”

The prize money of €6,000 has been divided among six winners:

🥇 1st place (€1,000 each): 

Gelila Enbaye - "Time to replace the old guard? Gerontocracy and presentism in South Sudan" 

Johanna Klingenburg - "Beyond Generations: Mapping Justice by Consequences" 

Joshua Steib - "Governing for Tomorrow: Global Insights into Institutionaizing Intergenerational Equity" 

Alimi Salifou - "Protecting future generations in Africa: Navigating Presentism, Geopolitics and Intergenerational Justice" 

Caitlin Masoliver - "Institutional Reform for the Long-term: Balancing Tensions between Technocracy and Participatory-democracy for Addressing Presentism in Policymaking" 

Vankala Lasya Priya - "When youth revolt: Gerontocracy and Presentism in Nepal's 2025 Gen Z revolution" 

Special Prize: Lukas Pfaller - "Long-term art and how it becomes design?"

Congratulations to all the winners! We would like to thank the Apfelbaum Foundation for the idea and for funding the prize money. 

Addressing this issue required clarifying the definition of “intergenerational justice”, as well as the ability to draw meaningful comparisons between generations.

The jury for this Intergenerational Justice Award included the following individuals, among others:

Dr. Juliana Bidadanure

Associate Professor of Philosophy, and Affiliate Faculty of Law, at New York University. Author of Justice Across Ages (2021).

Prof. Simon Caney

Professor of Political Theory at the University of Warwick and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Prof. Dr. Michael Schefczyk 

Professor of Practical Philosophy at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Intergenerational Justice Prize 2025/26 focusing on “The Personal Carbon Footprint”

The prize money of €5,000 was divided among three winners:

🥇 1st place (€2,000 each): 

Adumaro Amabogha & Thomas Aneni - "Beyond State Policy: 'The Personal Carbon Footprint, Climate Equity, and the Bottom-Up Imperative in the African Region and Nigeria" 

Masako Ichihara - "Exploring the Legal Obligation to Reduce Personal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Climate Litigation Rulings" 

🥈 2nd place (€1,000) 

Hochung Cho & Jieun Jung - "The Personal Carbon Footprint of AI: Ethical Imperatives and Strategies for Individual AI Usage" 

 

Congratulations to all the winners! We would like to thank the Apfelbaum Foundation for the idea and for funding the prize money. 

In 2024, something unique happened in human climate history: According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), in 2024 it was 1.55 degrees warmer than the average temperature between the years 1850 to 1900 (WMO 2025). In response to the lack of progress on climate action, this call for papers addresses an often-overlooked aspect: the individual responsibility to protect the climate.

The jury for this Intergenerational Justice Award included the following individuals, among others:

Dr. Michael Bilharz

Responsible for the CO2 calculator at the German Federal Environment Agency. Spokesperson for the board of 3 fürs Klima e.V. and initiator of KLIMAWETTE. 

Prof. Lukas Meyer

Head of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Graz and Board Member of Climate Change Centre Austria.

Prof. Elizabeth Cripps

Senior Lecturer in Political Theory, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.

 

For further details on past prizes take a look into our Awards Archive