DThe 39-year-old Apameh Schönauer from Berlin is the new Miss Germany. She prevailed against eight other women on Saturday evening in Europa Park Rust. One of the ten finalists had to withdraw due to illness.
Schönauer fights against the discrimination against women with a migrant background in the job market, as she told the show. She also founded the Shirzan (Lionheart) network for oppressed women. Schönauer works as an architect and is the mother of two children. She came to Germany from Iran when she was six. Her goal is to encourage young women with a migrant background to dream big. “I want to be a role model for many young girls,” said Schönauer.
Commitment to organ donation, integration, inclusion
Schönauer prevailed over a total of 15,000 applicants over several months. The age limit of 39 no longer applied this year. The oldest participant was Hamburg sex counselor Mignon Kowollik, aged 42. The Miss Germany election has undergone fundamental reforms over the past half decade: While previously, for example, a bikini walk on the catwalk was the main criterion for the election, it is now about a mission or message that the women present. All ten finalists advocated for a social issue: organ donation, integration, inclusion, more women in technical professions or single parents or, like the teacher Julia Schneider from Hesse, for a comprehensive educational reform.
Role model for other women: Schönauer impressed the jury the most with her performance.
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Image: dpa
Schönauer was chosen as the winner by a jury consisting of actress Sharon Battiste, entrepreneur Vivien Wulf, influencer and jungle camp participant Twenty4Tim, journalist and presenter Neda Peemüller, reality TV star Nicolas Puschmann and the PR head of the Miss Germany Studios, Jil Andert, chosen. Last year's Miss Germany, Kira Geiss, presented Schönauer with the award and the sash. Twenty-one-year-old Geiss is involved in youth work, in church and gives workshops on how to use social media correctly.
Grandson continues grandfather's life's work
For winning, Schönauer will receive prize money of 25,000 euros, which she can use for her project. Supported by the Miss Germany Studios, she will now tour Germany as Miss Germany for a year. The company supports the winner as a manager and with contacts in politics and the media.
The former artist manager Horst Klemmer, who once marketed Heinz Schenk, among others, made the Miss Germany pageant big more than 60 years ago. Since 2019, under the leadership of his twenty-seven-year-old grandson Max, the event has transformed from a beauty pageant to a “Female Leader Award”. The jury is now honoring women who want to take responsibility and change society.
Part of the strategy change is also a focus on social media. The event was broadcast live on the streaming platform Twitch, which is currently primarily known for video games. The VIP guest list consisted largely of influencers. The new focus on social media has helped to significantly increase the number of applicants, said Horst Klemmer. In his day there were only around 3,000, now 15,000.
The change away from the beauty pageant is not well received by some guests. When asked, an older man said that there was no longer one participant in each federal state. He also thinks it's bad if there are any “eco-aunts” on stage. An older woman, who, in her own words, was there as a guest for the 22nd time, “doesn’t think it’s okay if some twenty-year-olds want to tell her what they’ve already experienced in their lives.” The women lack life experience.
However, the majority of guests are enthusiastic. One young woman said, “Real beauty comes from within, when you know what you are committed to and why.”
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