“Keep Jumping Off the Ten-Meter Board”: Stephanie von Bismarck Receives the Courage Prize

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She is an author, podcaster, entrepreneur, and now a recipient of the Courage Prize: Stephanie von Bismarck was honored on Sunday evening in the historic castle of Bad Iburg for her commitment to combating child abuse and modernizing Germany’s education system.

With “joyful courage” and deep gratitude, the new laureate looked back on a glittering, moving, and — thanks to a brilliant piano talk by Markus Becker and Lutz Krajenski — genuinely uplifting evening. “This prize gives strength and renewed courage in troubling times,” von Bismarck told the newspaper. The 49-year-old received the award for her work protecting children and young people on the internet and advocating for a future-proof education system.

The laudatory address was delivered by a close friend, Anne-Marie Großmann, manager and co-owner of the Georgsmarienhütte steel group. Großmann praised her friend’s warmth, openness, and willingness to tackle uncomfortable subjects — such as in her podcast How Do We Manage. “How do you respond to the challenges of a complex world without losing the most vulnerable?” she asked. The Courage Prize, she said, is a visible sign of support for issues that deserve far more attention.

Von Bismarck donated the €3,000 prize money to the Stahlwerk Georgsmarienhütte Foundation, of which she is chair. “To better prepare young people for the future — through education, the promotion of responsibility, and independence,” she explained.

Wolfgang Mollenhauer of the Courage Committee set the context for the evening: the risk of children becoming victims of sexual violence is exploding online. Cyber grooming is booming, and artificial intelligence makes it even easier for perpetrators to conceal their identities. For parents, teachers, and society at large, the challenge of protecting and empowering children before they become victims keeps growing.

Stephanie von Bismarck has been fighting exactly this fight for over 20 years — initially with the organization Innocence in Danger, and now through her own foundation’s work promoting science, research, and education, with a current focus on inspiring students toward technical and scientific careers.

I followed my convictions. Looking away was simply not an option when it came to child abuse. ‘If not me, then who? If not now, then when?’ — that thought keeps me going.

In her acceptance speech, von Bismarck said she had never pursued courage as a conscious goal — “except maybe on the ten-meter diving board.” Courage, she said, is the resonance of her values and part of her inner compass. “I followed my convictions. Looking away was simply not an option when it came to child abuse. ‘If not me, then who? If not now, then when?’ — that thought keeps me going.”

Referencing the Epstein Files, she criticized “a society that made these crimes possible for decades, knew about them, and stayed silent.” She vowed to keep jumping off the ten-meter board wherever she sees a responsibility to act, and urged the audience: “Don’t look away. The young generation needs us more urgently than ever.”

The evening in the castle’s Knight’s Hall was rounded off by a remarkable musical dialogue between Markus Becker, born in Bad Iburg and professor at the Hannover University of Music, and jazz musician Lutz Krajenski. Together they played their way through Bach, Stevie Wonder, Brahms, and Thelonious Monk — turning the ceremony into a celebration.