Observer "Prix Courage" 2020 goes to Nadya and Candid Pfister
Nadya and Candid Pfister from Spreitenbach AG are awarded the "Beobachter Prix Courage" 2020. They lost their daughter Céline to suicide in August 2017 and have been fighting cyberbullying ever since. The prize, worth 15,000 Swiss francs, was presented to them on Friday evening during the digital award ceremony on Blick TV.
For three years, Nadya and Candid Pfister have been fighting cyberbullying on Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #célinesvoice. Their only daughter Céline was only 13 years old when she committed suicide in August 2017 after days of bullying via the app "Snapchat." The two teenagers who bullied Pfister's daughter with an intimate picture met a lenient sentence: they got off with a few days of community service. That's why the Pfister couple has been campaigning for digital bullying to be prosecuted in the future ever since. "If even one less child tries to commit suicide, we will have achieved an infinite amount," explains Nadya Pfister. Thanks to the Pfisters' commitment, SP National Councilor Gabriela Suter has since submitted a parliamentary initiative.
The "Beobachter Prix Courage" was chosen by the public via online voting and by the six-member jury. The votes of the audience and those of the jury are weighted 50 percent each.
"Prix Courage Lifetime Award" for "The Offered Hand
The "Beobachter Prix Courage Lifetime Award" for special services to society, endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs, was awarded this year to the aid organization "Die Dargebotene Hand". For over 60 years, the telephone counseling service has been supported by around 670 volunteers who listen to and help other people with a lot of heart and without pay.
