SozialMarie 2026: Curtain Up for Social Innovation!

From Classrooms to the Cinema:  These Are the SozialMarie Winners 2026

SozialMarie 2026: Curtain Up for Social Innovation! An evening that once again showed what is possible: for the 22nd time, the SozialMarie awards were presented – this year at Casino Zögernitz in Vienna.
Fifteen projects from Central and Eastern Europe demonstrate how change begins in everyday life – through concrete solutions and remarkable commitment. A total of €55,000 in prize money was awarded.

Main Prizes

1st Prize: Comprehensive Integration Program EDU-UA (Slovakia)

It starts in the classroom. Children arrive in a new country, do not speak the language, and need support. This is exactly where the Comprehensive Integration Program EDU-UA begins – directly within everyday school life.

What started as immediate support gradually evolved into an approach that combines psychosocial assistance, language learning, and impulses for the education system. Today, it has become a model that demonstrates how structural change can grow out of practical action.

2nd Prize: Modern Self-Defense (Czech Republic)

Many critical situations begin quietly. A feeling, a moment, a hesitation.

Modern Self-Defense starts precisely there: noticing, understanding, acting. It is not about martial arts, but about recognizing personal boundaries early and using one’s room for action.

3rd Prize: Cinema without Barriers (Slovenia)

Who can actually go to the cinema – and who cannot?

Cinema without Barriers approaches this question in a very practical way: the project organizes accessible film screenings for blind and deaf people – as a standard, not an additional service. Especially in smaller towns, it creates access to culture for people for whom going to the cinema has often not been self-evident.

Austrian Projects Also Awarded

Asylum Lawyers’ Network – NWAA (Award Winner & Audience Award)

Complex asylum procedures require specialized support. The network brings together legal expertise and accompanies selected cases through all levels of jurisdiction, up to European courts.
The focus lies on cases whose impact extends beyond the individual and contributes to the further development of human rights standards.

Additional Awards of €2,000 each go to:

Croatia

• Project O2
• Eko Lika GREENNovation
• KLIK – Cooperative-Led Energy and Climate OSS

Czech Republic

• Open Path

Hungary

• Mini Diversity Explorers
• Ministry of Love and Empathy
• BBM Farm – Community Garden & Culture Space
• Family Village Program

Slovakia

• Integrated Health and Social Care Centre