Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner was unanimously nominated for this year's award by the pro Ruhr board. As Chairman of the Politisches Forum Ruhr, which he founded in 1990 against the backdrop of the nationwide debate on party reforms and as an instrument against political disenchantment, he has been promoting and shaping socio-political dialog in the Ruhr region for almost three decades now. The evening events of the Ruhr Political Forum attract an ever-growing audience, are attractive for opinion leaders and executives and bring the Ruhr region - far beyond the regional borders - into the public eye as a source of inspiration for pressing issues of the future. Holthoff-Pförtner, born in Essen, well connected and a political person through and through, has become nationally known as a lawyer and is a convinced advocate for the future viability of the Ruhr metropolis.

The second new citizen was chosen on the basis of a public competition on the topic: "Ingeniously digital: Who is at the forefront of the digital transformation process in the Ruhr region?". The large number of proposals submitted were all outstanding examples of the innovative strength of the Ruhr metropolis: digitalization is by no means a marginal or niche topic in the Ruhr.

The jury, chaired by NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, chose Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael ten Hompel, Dortmund's top researcher with a global reputation, one of the pioneers of the Internet of Things, inventor of shuttle technology in intralogistics, entrepreneurial scientist with heart and soul, he always has his practical projects firmly in mind.

Ten Hompel's digital innovations offer solutions for future-oriented logistics that are used in logistics processes around the globe, setting standards for the Ruhr as a location for innovation and are essential for the realization of Industry 4.0. He has pioneered the digitalization of the Ruhr as a logistics location. With flagship projects such as the EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr, which he defined in terms of content and is now Europe's most important logistics research cluster, he has made the Ruhr metropolis known beyond the region. His application-oriented research strengthens an industry that is formative for the modern Ruhr region.

With Holthoff-Pförtner and ten Hompel, pro Ruhr honors two personalities who measure the Metropole Ruhr by its strengths and at the same time face up to its major challenges, who through their work promote the future viability of the region and give it supra-regional appeal. In doing so, they consistently focus on the advantage of regional synergies.