"Be the change you wish to see in the world" said by no one less than Ghandi more than half a century ago, it seems that this idea, as simple as it is ingenious, is more current than ever: All over the world people are uniting and the young especially are rising up to have their interests be heard.
88 projects for democracy
The youth movements of Fridays For Future, Black Lives Matter or Hong Kong are not the only examples of a growing commitment among young people to political participation: This year, no less than 88 projects applied for the Youth Democracy Award 2020. From demonstrations, concerts, podcasts, youth parliaments, panel discussions, art actions to film shootings, all was there. All over the world, young people are committed to democracy and civil society in a grandiose and inspiring way - regardless of whether they come from Africa, Asia, America or Europe.
Thanks for your commitment!
At this point we would like to thank everyone who submitted their project to us:
Thanks to your ideas, there is room for dialogue where fronts threaten to harden.
Thanks to your actions, interests are now heard that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Thanks to your commitment, democracy is and remains alive.
And the winners are…
Due to the variety of great projects this year, it was especially difficult to select the winning projects. Eventually the volunteering youth jury chose two equal winners:
Winner: The Phoenix Daily
Phoenix Daily (© The Phoenix Daily)
Phoenix Daily (© The Phoenix Daily)
The independent youth blog "The Phoenix Daily" appears in Beirut, Lebanon, and covers national and international affairs in English, Arabic, and French. The diverse team from all sects, languages, genders, and regions of Lebanon symbolises a signal of possibility within the less democratic media of the country. The editors contribute to the academic and intellectual debates on matters such as international affairs, economic, environment, politics, and development.
Winner: Fem-Pop
Fem-Pop (© fempop)
Fem-Pop (© fempop)
The concert series fem_pop from Düsseldorf increases the visibility and empowerment of female and no-binary acts in the music business. Their talks, performances and discussions give feministic impetus to both politics as well as Popmusic. The collective criticizes that most of the people behind the stage and in the cultural sector are male.
Moreover, two outstanding projects were chosen to receive special recognition:
Special recognition: Statt-Tour
In the handicapped accessible city tours of the student initiative Enactus Hamburg e.V. "Statt-Tour" wheelchair users offer guided tours through the Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The participants get a wheelchair. In the course of the tour their perspectives on the city changes and their awareness for inclusion, accessibility and barrier liberty rises.
Special recognition: HG Queer
The open committee of the pupils' council of the Hainberg-High School "HG Queer" in Göttingen, Lower Saxony, encourages diversity via anti-discrimination- and education-work and with photo campaigns. "HG Queer" is the first students board of queer politics in Germany and promotes unisex toilets, awareness activities and a LGBTIQ* friendly school culture.
#UNITED!
Congratulations to our winning projects! You have inspired us with your projects. And yet: What was probably most important in the end was to learn how young people all over the world are fighting for democracy in very different ways!
No matter if Global South or North, West or East, man or woman, hetero or queer, few or many resources, country or city, white or BIPoC. One thing is certain: We often have more in common than we realize!
Be part of the award ceremony!
Would you like to learn more about the winners? No problem! Be there live when we hand over the prize to our winners at the online awards ceremony! And don't worry, this won't be a dull event - ask questions, be inspired and be surprised!
When: Fr, 6th Nov 2020, 6.-7. pm CET
Where: embedded into the Externer Link: Online NECE-Conference [language: EN]
The live stream will be accessible via Externer Link: https://www.nece-conference.eu/
Would you like tol inspire us with your project next year? Stay tuned!
