Berlin, 23 March 2020 – The decision of the international evaluation committee on the European Demographer Awards, a prize donated by the Förderfonds Wissenschaft in Berlin, was announced today by the secretariat of the European research network Population Europe.
Dr Alice Goisis (35), University College London, will receive this year's European Demographer Award in the category for "a promising and upcoming researcher, who has obtained his or her Ph.D. within the period of 2014-2019". Her research focuses, amongst other topics, on how the age of the mother at birth, the use of reproductive technologies or the socio-economic situation of the family influence the health and development of children.
Dr. Iñaki Permanyer (45), Centre for Demographic Studies in Barcelona, receives this year's European Demographer Award in the category for "a more experienced researcher, who has obtained his or her Ph.D. within the period of 2004-2009". He is working on methods to more reliably measure the impact of demographic factors, such as family behaviour or gender differences, on social inequality, poverty risks and differences in life expectancy.
Both laureates have published in leading international journals and received other internationally renowned awards, including funding from the European Research Council of the European Commission.
About the European Demographer Award
Since 2015, the European Demographer Award (formerly the Allianz European Demographer Award) has been awarded to outstanding scientists from all over Europe. The previous winners come from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, in reference to both their country of origin and employment, and represent a wide range of research topics within the field of demography. The names of the previous award winners can be found here.
The prize is awarded each year in two categories (for younger researchers and for researchers who have already advanced in their careers). Candidates cannot apply for the award but must be nominated by other scientists. The award is usually presented at the evening event of the annual Berlin Demography Forum, last year in the presence of the President of the German parliament, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble. Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography, was expected to attend the 2020 award ceremony, which now will be held in 2021.
About the Förderfonds Wissenschaft in Berlin
The Förderfonds Wissenschaft in Berlin is part of the Stifterverband and a non-profit foundation with the aim of attracting private sponsors for scientific projects and investments, thus strengthening Berlin as a research area. As the central point of contact for private science funding in the capital, it communicates the importance of individual commitment to science within the public, maintains contacts with science organizations and potential sponsors, oversees their grants and establishes partnerships between companies and science. It stands for quality, neutrality and transparency.
About Population Europe
Population Europe is a network of currently 35 leading European research centres in the field of population sciences. The secretariat in Berlin is hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The aim is to inform decision-makers in politics and society as well as the public about the most recent demographic research findings, mainly through policy dialogue events (discussion forums, expert workshops, webinars), regularly published information materials (discussion paper, policy brief, PopDigests) and social media.
About the award ceremony
Please note that due to the spread of the coronavirus in Europe, the award ceremony had to be postponed to March 22, 2021. The names of the prize winners are already being published now so that they will not be disadvantaged by the postponement.
Interview requests
Interview requests to the award winners should be sent directly by e-mail to a.goisis [at] ucl.ac.uk (Alice Goisis) or Inaki.Permanyer [at] uab.cat (Iñaki Permanyer).
Press contact: edel [at] demogr.mpg.de (Andreas Edel, Population Europe / Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research).