In Memoriam

Winner Erasmus Prize 2018 Barbara Ehrenreicht (1941-2022) has passed away

It is with great sorrow that the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has learnt of the death of journalist and writer Barbara Ehrenreich on September 1. She was awarded the 2018 Erasmus Prize for her contribution to the prize area ‘The power of investigative journalism’. Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich was commended for her courage in putting herself on the line in her journalistic work. By leading the life of people in precarious situations, she has given a voice to groups in society that would otherwise remain unheard. She made her breakthrough with her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (2001), for which she spent months trying to survive on her earnings from what society calls unskilled work.

In her acceptance speech at the 2018 Erasmus Prize Award Ceremony, Ehrenreich also cited social inequality: ‘Many people praised me for my bravery for having done this — to which I could only say: Millions of people do this kind of work every day for their entire lives — haven’t you noticed them?’ Read the entire speech here.

See here the article in The New York Times.

Watch the film portrait that director Shanti van Dam made for the ceremony here: