German Prize for Civic Engagement - The Competition

Prize categories  

Non-profit Third Sector Organisations

Who provides advice to those who are in debt? Who can one turn to as a foreigner in this country? What can society do collectively to protect the environment? In Germany, there are many organisations which are committed to the needs of society. They come to the aid of people in difficult situations, offering them their support, and contributing significantly towards a constructive shaping of the future. Some of these associations exist chiefly for individual people, whereas others focus on political influence or international networking. However, they all have one thing in common: namely enriching life of society, raising awareness of imbalances, guaranteeing diversity and providing opportunities to become involved. Associations, projects and initiatives from the non-profit sector, which are committed to achieving aims that serve the common good, can be nominated for this category of the German Prize for Civic Engagement.    

Politics & Public Administration

Citizen engagement thrives on voluntariness: it is not rooted in the state sector. Why, therefore, does the German Prize for Civic Engagement have the category Politics & Public Administration? Simple: politics and administration can facilitate voluntary engagement, creating settings that make it easier for people to seize the initiative and retain their engagement on a long-term basis. This can range from providing concrete measures to regulate financial frameworks for volunteers right up to deploying administrative staff from the communities and towns on voluntary projects. Towns that make it easy for their citizens to become active for others; politicians who show that the needs of volunteers especially matter to them – all are suitable candidates for the German Prize for Civic Engagement.    

Personality 

Who doesn’t know them: the neighbour who spends his time off campaigning for the protection of animals. The colleague who looks after refugees in Germany. The school pupil, who reads stories to care home residents or the mother who has set up her own project at her children’s school to support disadvantaged school pupils. Civic engagement of individuals is usually organised via associations, organisations, projects or specific initiatives – only concerted, collective action can lead to an influential, composite whole. And yet, there is often this one person, without whom the whole project would not get off the ground, or who has made an extra special effort. Nominating this person for the German Prize for Civic Engagement offers an unusual opportunity to say thank you to “personal heroes.” Volunteers from all areas of engagement can be nominated for the category Personality.    

Business 

“What does economic thinking have to do with volunteering?” you might ask. On the face of it, nothing at all. Yet there are more and more enterprises, worldwide and in Germany, that provide funds and resources for the common good. Others should be in the position to profit from their own success – and on the other hand, engagement is good for the company and its staff. Many enterprises support non-profit projects, either financially or through the voluntary deployment of their staff, who are, for example, released from work on specific days. To a certain extent, new types of initiative or long-term co-operations between economy and charitable non-profit organisations emerge – creativity and innovation know no limits. Nominations for enterprises and companies that actively pursue or support voluntary engagement gratefully received in this category!    

Focus category 2011: Engagement of Older People

Helping other people, being on hand with advice and drawing on a wealth of experience from a full life – who could do this better than the generation 60 and above? Many older people are experienced and placid, yet energetic and motivated to set up initiatives, develop projects and play an active part with vigour. This year, the German Prize for Civic Engagement’s focus category is the Engagement of Older People. Thereby, it aims to raise public awareness of their value and function as role models. Nominations will be accepted for engaged older people from all areas, as well as projects, initiatives or associations that are run by senior citizens.    

Public Prize

The public prize is a category that does not accept nominations – and that is what makes it particularly exciting! Nominees from all other categories compete against each other, hoping to win as many votes as possible in the online voting. The finalists for the Public Prize – about 20 projects – are selected from the best nominations from all other categories by the jury of the German Prize for Civic Engagement. It is certainly something special when thousands of people, some of them strangers, vote for a person or project. Consequently, the Public Prize is the only one of the six awards that carries a prize of Euro 10,000.