The Sylvia Michel Prize

The Sylvia Michel Prize promotes and supports projects preparing women for leadership positions in Reformed churches worldwide. The prize of USD 5,000 is awarded at irregular intervals in cooperation with the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). 

The prize was established to honour Sylvia Michel of the Reformed Church of Argovia who as first woman in Switzerland was to hold the position of president of a church. After completing her theological studies, Sylvia Michel was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1964. In 1980 she was elected as President of the Reformed Church of the Canton of Argovia and became the first woman in Europe to hold such a high-level position. 

In thankful commemoration of her pioneer work and for the competence with which women sustain and lead churches, the Sylvia Michel Prize was launched in July 2007 by the Reformed Cantonal Church of Argovia in partnership with PanKS and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (now the World Communion of Reformed Churches). Since 2023, the organisation of the Sylvia Michel Prize has been continued by the Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS). 

Applications for the Sylvia Michel Prize 2027 for women’s leadership projects can now be submitted. 

Entries are accepted by the following:  

• Women’s organisations within the church. 

• Women’s groups which work in partnership with men on advancing women and leadership. 
• Individuals, including church workers (both lay and ordained).

The prize is awarded to a project already in progress which has one or several of the following goals: 

• To promote education and awareness within and among churches on women’s equal rights and women’s capacity for leadership positions in the church. 

• To work for women’s equality leadership positions in Reformed churches worldwide. 

• To build capacity of women through training and mentorship. 

• To be engaged in action-oriented research on women and leadership in the church with the aim of advancing the situation of women in leadership. 

• To build partnership of women and men in church leadership. 

The application form (below) must be completed and submitted with a budget of the project and official endorsement by the church. 

The deadline for receiving applications is 31 January 2027. 

A jury appointed by the Council of the Protestant Church in Switzerland will decide on the awarding of the prize. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place during the 2027 Autumn Synod in Bern. 

For further information, please contact: 

Cynthia Guignard
Cynthia.guignard@evref.ch 
T +41 31 370 25 25

Application Form