{"id":11372,"date":"2020-03-20T21:33:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T21:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schspin.stieve.com\/?p=11372"},"modified":"2020-05-21T19:53:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T19:53:57","slug":"bundesverdienstorden-an-frauen-in-kultur-und-medien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schspin.stieve.com\/gb\/2020\/03\/20\/bundesverdienstorden-an-frauen-in-kultur-und-medien\/","title":{"rendered":"If I had the German “Order of Merit”…."},"content":{"rendered":"

Spatial isolation does not mean social isolation. There are sufficient serious media, professional associations, trade journals and blogs, individuals and many others who report sensibly and comprehensively on Corona \/ Covid-19, necessary precautions and help for those directly and indirectly affected. The Berlin Charit\u00e9 has developed the CovApp<\/a> (in German and English), where you can “answer a catalogue of questions within minutes and receive specific recommendations for action<\/em>“. Other than that: stay as healthy and calm as possible! Wash your hands (and the displays of your mobiles) and keep the 2 m. distance. Protect yourself and others, help where you can, reward yourself with the Coronavirus Reward Stickers<\/a> from Gemma Correll and use this retreat stayathome time to read, for example my blog. Best regards, BRS<\/span><\/p>\n

If I had the German “Order of Merit”….<\/span><\/h1>\n

… this would be the moment to return it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday, 6 March 2020, fourteen women and five men were awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the highest distinction of this country, by Monika Gr\u00fctters, Minister of State for Culture and Media. The press release 77 of the Federal Government states:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Shortly before International Women’s Day, many women will be honoured for their outstanding artistic intermediary work and women and men for their commitment to greater gender equality. Minister of State for Culture Gr\u00fctters praised the 14 women and five men as “courageous fighters for fair opportunities and successful role models in helping women in culture and the media to achieve equality. With their commitment, they are all helping to ensure that great women in culture and media receive the appreciation they deserve.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Gr\u00fctters continues: Women are still underrepresented at the top of cultural institutions and media companies, in committees and on juries. Since the beginning of my term of office, I have therefore been committed to improving gender parity at all levels in culture and the media”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bundesverdienstorden<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This news reached me even in far away in Hessen (I was a jury member at the German TV crime dramas festival, more about that next week), several colleagues, friends and acquaintances from the film industry texted and e-mailed me. The most frequently used words were, however:<\/span><\/p>\n

Joke, Farce, Outrageousness, Fiddling, Punch in the Face<\/span><\/h2>\n

Basically it is true of course that awarding women and men for “exemplary commitment to fair opportunities<\/em>” is a good thing. However, a glance at the list of awardees is doubly sobering. For one, important personalities were passed over, and on the other hand, because some men received the order who had not really stood up for gender equality and women\u2018s rights in their area.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why these 19? That\u2018s not all that understandable as there is little information available. Stefan Mertsch<\/strong>, BKM employee, explained:<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the press release, there are no individual texts on the order recipients available unfortunately. At the ceremony last Friday, Ms. Gr\u00fctters paid tribute to all individually with very personal words, which she phrased as she spoke. Please understand that there are no transcripts available. The reasons for the distinctions, on the basis of which the Federal President decided to award the Order of Merit, are subject to confidentiality.<\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

I find this secrecy and confidentiality business a bit strange, even problematic. If there are good reasons to honour these 19 people, then Frau Gr\u00fctters should share them with us, to make the decision transparent and as additional informative for all (who may not know all the people on the list). It also prevents any possible suspicion that the awarding of awards is something like the awarding of supervisory board positions, with possibly a bit of fiddling taking place behind closed doors. <\/span><\/p>\n

The award ceremony was for invited guests only. It was open to the press however, i.e. members of the press with a press card. Unfortunately there are no longer video recordings. You can find a short video summary on our Twitter account.<\/em>
\n(Stefan Mertsch<\/strong> via mail)<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know whether any of the media present asked or even questioned the list, I found nothing about this in the reports on 6.3. In fact in most cases they only quoted above mentioned press release, without any comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who are the 19?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Here\u2018s the alphabetical list. I did a bit of research to supplement the sparse information from the press release:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n