The awardee 2026 is Andrés Olarte Peña. Laudatory speech was given by Harald Welzer and the roundtable discussion included Owen Pinnell, journalist and filmmaker at BBC Eye, and Alexander von Bismarck, executive director of the Environmental Investigation Agency.
Our 2026 Award Ceremony took place without the presence of the awardee due to sickness. It was a last-minute challenge that we managed to turn into an interesting event. With Alexander von Bismarck stepping in to read Andrés phenomenal speech!
But our thoughts were with the awardee and his health. When we heard later that Andrés was doing better, that he watched the stream of the event, and that he feels honored by our joint effort, we felt relieved.
Videos of the acceptance speech, the laudatory speech by Harald Welzer and the full ceremony:
Acceptance Speech
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More InformationLaudatory Speech
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Picture Credits: Kyaw Soe/taz panterstiftung
Welcome by: Annegret Falter, Chair of Whistleblower Netzwerk.
Laudatory speech by: Harald Welzer, author, Professor of Transformation Design at the University of Flensburg, co-founder and director of the non-profit Futurzwei Foundation, and co-editor of tazFUTURZWEI. Welzer is also spokesperson for the Rat für digitale Ökologie.
Award presentation by: Klaus Schleisiek, Member of the Board of Directors of the Wau Holland Foundation.
Roundtable with: Owen Pinnell, journalist and filmmaker at BBC Eye, the BBC World Service’s investigative long-form unit; he directed the documentary “Colombia: Petroleum, Pollution and Paramilitaries” which is largely based on Olarte’s information. And Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which has been conducting extensive investigations to uncover environmental crimes worldwide since 1984; in March 2025, after lengthy research, the EIA published the report “Crude Lies” and the “Iguana Papers” database on the Ecopetrol case. Moderated by Thomas Kastning, Project Manager of the Ellsberg Whistleblower Award.
Music by: taz Choir.
My motivation is change. I hope for structural reforms at Ecopetrol and in Colombia. Whistleblowing and transparency should not be a burden but a positive contribution.
Andrés Olarte Peña
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