Congrats to our winners across borders!

AUSTRIA - Vienna

The first prize of the SozialMarie went to the grassroots organization of migrant live-in caregivers. The self-organized project went viral in Austrian media in previous months. Anna Leder from the IG24 was our guest at the SozialMarie office and Wanda Moser-Heindl (Unruhe Privatstiftung) handed over the precious statue from a safe distance, while we talked about their plans to fight for labor rights and better working conditions for caregivers. We have also invited the Vienna-based project #Zukunftslaut and handed over the Prize to Rebekka Dober from the organization YEP.austria. A group of young people developed a radically participative approach to enable dialogue between different generations and opinion groups. The project proves, that online media channels can not only tear people apart but also bring them together in a constructive dialogue. We have enjoyed the mini award ceremony at our office over coffee and cake.

CROATIA - Zagreb

We have met the Croatian SozialMarie winners at our mini Gala event in a hidden park in the city of Zagreb. The winning projects were represented by Ivana Borovnjak from “MADE IN: Crafts and Design Narratives”, Arijana Lekic-Fridrih “From5to95”, Luiza Bouharaoua from “Carry on with the story”. The nature around us contributed to the personal atmosphere of the mini award ceremony, while visitors of the park substituted the audience of the Radiokulturhaus in the background. We have all agreed, that the industrial design of the SozialMarie statue looks just as if it was made especially for the craft project MADE IN!

CZECH REPUBLIC - Prague

We have started with our Czech mini-awards in Prague. The inspiring meetings with our prizewinners Gabriela Kabátová from the Czech project “Forgotten kids” and Marie Salomonová from the project “Mental health care program for high school students” were just the beginning. Marie Salomonová met our patron, Yemi A.D., to discuss how they would like to collaborate in the future. Kampus Hybernská in Prague hosted a SozialMarie get-together in June. The meeting with the Gabriela Kabátová, executive director of this year’s prize winner project „Forgotten Kids“ by the Czech Prison Fellowship International was not only heart-warming, but it gave us a great insight into the world of marginalised kids and their families.

HUNGARY – Budapest

On a beautiful sunny afternoon with coffee and lemonade on a terrace, we met the 2021 Hungarian winners. It was so good to finally talk in person, exchange experiences, rejoice in their successes, and hand over the awards to the winners. The second prize winner "Pandemic legal aid", represented by Fruzsina Tóth and Dóri Átal (Streetlawyers Association), is back on the streets again with its legal support, but the online legal aid remains just as popular. The winner "Partnership for education during the pandemic” from the fruitful cooperation of Hospitalschool Foundation represented by Mónika Almássy and Brigitta Varga and Telenor Hungary represented by Anett Gulyás and Attila Mészáros showed us how it is when a cross-sectoral partnership operates well in the long-term. The young and innovative team of Munch with Najoua Belayane and Bence Zwecker received the prize for the “Munch” project, which as we learned opens its new branch in Romania.

SLOVAKIA - Bratislava

It was exciting to speak with winning projects about their activities in detail, as well as to share their joy from being selected among the winning projects. Vlado Rafael and Laura Kösziklová from the Eduroma civic organisation (project owner of “Step by Step”) aim to extend their educational activities to further regions in Slovakia to help Roma children from marginalised communities. Marek Mach from “Youth against fascism” talked about his successes and obstacles since managing the initiative. In addition to right-wing extremism, he also pointed out at the significant growth of left-wing extremism, which might become a serious issue in a few years. The representatives of both projects were very happy to receive their SozialMarie prizes, which encouraged them to keep on going with their meaningful and structured project activities.