Esra-Paul Afken's master's thesis is dedicated to visualising and scientifically indexing the photographic collection of the former Institute for Sexual Science. This institution, a pioneer in the fight for the rights of sexual minorities, was destroyed by the National Socialists in 1933. Many of the collection items were lost or irretrievably destroyed.
"As an emancipatory place that campaigned for the rights of sexual minorities, the institution was considered 'immoral' and 'too liberally orientated' by the National Socialists," writes Afken in his work. By digitally reconstructing the collection and developing inclusive metadata, Afken is making a significant contribution to reintegrating queer identities and realities from the early 20th century back into public discourse.

Innovative approaches and ethical sensitivity
With his master's thesis, which was supervised by Prof. Dr. Marian D?rk, research professor for Information Visualisation & Management at the Department of Design at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, and Dr Linda Freyberg, research assistant at the Leibnitz Institute for Research and Information in Education, Afken sensitively advocates the (re)visualisation of queer identities and lifestyles negotiated at the beginning of the 20th century. Prof. Dr Marian D?rk emphasises: "The prizewinner's commitment to the development of metadata with low discrimination and the development of a semantic data model that meets the specific requirements of the queer history collection is particularly noteworthy. His critical examination of the requirements for digital indexing and the ethical issues arising from the sensitive nature of the collection objects reflects a deep understanding of the complexity of the issues."
Thanks to the application of the FAIR and CARE principles and the use of the open source software Omeka S, Afken developed innovative ways of digitally visualising and networking the collection.

Outstanding approach to current debates
Sandra Cartes, Central Equal Opportunities Officer at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, explains the jury's decision: "In addition to high academic quality and professional expertise, the jury was particularly impressed by the great sensitivity that this thesis expresses. Esra-Paul Afken's approach offers the opportunity to integrate the historical collection into current debates on sexual diversity, while at the same time dealing responsibly with historical narratives. He shows strategies for dealing with discriminatory and, from an equality perspective, inadequate labelling."

The Gender Prize of the FH Potsdam
The Gender Prize has been awarded annually since 2000 and honours outstanding theses that deal with gender aspects and social backgrounds in a well-founded manner. In addition to originality and sensitivity, academic quality and professional depth are decisive. The prize is sponsored by the Equal Opportunities Officer and is endowed with €500.

Award ceremony
The award ceremony will take place on 10 December 2024 as part of a reading with Stefanie Lohaus ("St?rker als Wut").

>Location: Library of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
>Time: 18:00

Further information on equal opportunities work at the FHP can be found at: fh-potsdam.de/gleichstellung