Ceremony held for the 10th annual Berlin Award for Integration and Tolerance
COPRO supports outstanding integration projects in Berlin
The award ceremony for the tenth annual Berlin Award for Integration and Tolerance took place on November 14th in the Atrium of the Deutsche Bank on “Unter den Linden.” Organised by the Initiative Hauptstadt Berlin e.V. (IHB), the evening featured a speech by Hans-Georg Engelke, State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, who served as a substitute for Peter Altmaier, Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs. The speech for special distinctions was given by Serap Güler, State Secretary for Integration in the Ministry for Children, Families, Refugees and Integration in North-Rhine Westphalia.
Marc F. Kimmich, Managing Partner of COPRO, was pleased to celebrate the tenth anniversary: “We have supported these integration initiatives for ten years. And yet year after year, we continue to be amazed by the outstanding ideas and enthusiastic commitment shown by these participants.” This kind of social initiative goes to the core of COPRO’s mission, which is why it strives to honour these achievements.
Jury members included Christian Awe, Babak Ghassim, Peter Kurth, Nariman Reinke and Christoph Wegener, who introduced the honoured projects and presented awards totalling 50,000 Euro. Guests included the competition participants, members of the IHB and representatives from government, industry, film and culture.
Serving as the patron of the event, Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Thomas de Maizière noted in his introduction that, “successful integration is one of the main tasks facing our society and the state in the coming years. That is why the central mission of the Berlin Award – to promote integration and tolerance – is now more important than ever. Integration does not happen on the edges of society, but should be considered integral. This requires that we view society as a whole and improve efforts to integrate all groups, in any way we can, in order to strengthen society.”
Winners of the special distinctions in 2017
For the tenth anniversary year, Initiative Hauptstadt Berlin e.V. awarded two special distinctions, each totalling 3,000 Euro. Jocelyn B. Smith received an award for her project “Shine A Light”. The song serves as a call for more humanity and encourages listeners to fight for a more tolerant society.
The second special distinction was awarded to Seyran Ates and the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque. His courageous project strives to foster interreligious dialogue.
http://www.ibn-rushd-goethe-moschee.de/
Winners in 2017
This year, a total of 70 organisations and initiatives competed to win the Berlin Award for Integration and Tolerance. In addition to the special distinctions, the jury selected three additional winners and five individual prizes as well.
First prize, totalling 15,000 Euro, was awarded to the project Jona’s Haus by the foundation Jona. Based in Spandau, the project is an open facility that provides support to disadvantaged children and youth with the aim of improving their lives and creating a more promising outlook for the future.
Second prize, totalling 10,000 Euro, was awarded to the project Mix It! from the German Film Academy. Its president Iris Berben accepted the award on behalf of the Academy. As part of the project, migrant adolescents engage in intercultural dialogue with youth who have not been forced to leave their homelands. Together, they direct short films based on their own experiences that delve into topics like identity and transformation.
https://www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/herzlich-willkommen.html
The project Zentrum Überleben! was awarded the third prize with 5,000 Euro. The organisation supports treatment and rehabilitation for traumatised refugees.
Additional winners (with each prize totalling 3,000 Euro)
The Theatre of Cultures for its project “Linamanno and the old friends: An intercultural, interactive theatre initiative for children and audiences of all ages”
https://theater-der-erfahrungen.nbhs.de/
The Land of Fairy Tales – Fairy tales open doors ... Integration through Communication: Reading time in Nurseries
Engineer Maren Heinzerling for her project “The Magic of Physics – Learning German with Physics: A classroom project for physics and language acquisition”
http://www.zauberhafte-physik.net/
Rock Your Life! Berlin e.V. – A mentoring project for schools
MädchenSportCentrum Centre Talma with One Billion Rising: A dance project to fight violence against girls
