ERÖFFNUNG des Harbour Front Literaturfestival 2025 // Mit Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dr. Auma Obama, Kultursenator Dr. Carsten Brosda u.a.

In the organizer's words:

with:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (writer and activist)

Dr. Auma Obama (sociologist, author and journalist)

Dr. Carsten Brosda (Senator of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media)

Felix Jud Friends e.V. (initiators and founders of the FELIX JUD PRIZE)

Joachim Lux (artistic director of the Harbour Front Literature Festival)

On September 20, 2025, the 15th edition of the Harbour Front Literature Festival will open at the Elbphilharmonie.

A central component of this year's festival opening is the first-ever awarding of the FELIX JUD PRIZE, a "Prize for Resistant Thinking".

The Felix Jud Prize, donated by the association of the same name and awarded this year in cooperation with the Harbour Front Festival, honours and promotes a committed personality from the fields of literature, art and culture who has made a special contribution to strengthening resistant thinking, humanity, freedom and a culture of discussion and freedom of opinion. In the spirit of the Hamburg bookseller Felix Jud and his commitment to these values.

The jury, made up of a high-caliber board of trustees, awards the first Felix Jud Prize for Resistant Thought to the writer and activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of the great voices of world literature.

Her acclaimed speeches and books, not least her latest bestseller "Dream Count", have reached an audience of millions, her words can be found in songs by Beyoncé as well as in feminist debates worldwide. Her voice, her literary work and her commitment to equal rights make Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie one of the most important intellectuals of our time.

At the award ceremony, the feminist icon, who has been hailed as a literary superstar by audiences and media alike, will deliver one of her highly acclaimed speeches, which shine with a powerful combination of personal experience, sharp analysis and a deep understanding of the power of stories.

No less significant is the laudatory speech by Dr. Auma Obama, whose commitment to social justice and education makes her another important voice in the international debate.

The announced discussion between Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr. Auma Obama is certainly an eagerly awaited highlight.

The evening will be opened by the festival's artistic director Joachim Lux, most recently the longstanding artistic director of Hamburg's Thalia Theater. He will speak about the program of this year's festival, the approaches, visions and the direction of current and future development.

In addition, Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator of the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media , will be welcomed on stage; he is known for his fiery speeches on art and its institutions as the cornerstone of an open society.

We look forward with excitement and anticipation to this special event, to which we invite you in the spirit of the following quote.

"Let's not just talk about how important culture is to us. Let's go there!" (Dr. Carsten Brosda in the Hamburg Podcast)