Socioculture Innovation Award

Every two years, the Fonds Soziokultur awards the Socioculture Innovation Award, endowed with 10,000 euros, on a special topic. This theme is linked to its regular general project funding. Projects that address this topic and receive funding can also be nominated for the award by the Board of Trustees. A separate application for the Innovation Award is not possible. Once all nominated projects have been completed, a prize jury will select one or more award-winning projects.

On 10 October 2024, Fonds Soziokultur awarded the Socioculture Innovation Award to four projects from Hamburg, Munich and Berlin (2) under the title ‘Kulturarbeit aktiviert’ (cultural work activates). The award ceremony took place in the KulturMarktHalle in Berlin, at one of the award winners, and was accompanied by a two-day think tank with cultural professionals from the sociocultural sector.

Dr Cordelia Koch, Mayor of Berlin Pankow, Katrin Budde, Member of the Bundestag and Chair of the Committee for Culture and Media, and Kurt Eichler, Chairman of the Fonds Soziokultur, opened the evening. They emphasised the importance of this form of cultural work. They clearly emphasised the enormous significance of the award-winning projects, which are activating people right now, giving them a voice and can actually change spaces for coexistence. The programme was artistically accompanied by two dancers. Interviews with the award winners and the laudatory speech provided insights into the diversity and quality of the cultural work of all the award-winning organisations.

The award-winning projects are also representative of numerous independent cultural initiatives and creative artists in Germany who work directly with and for local people to promote cultural democracy on a daily basis. 

The Sociocultural Innovation Award, which is endowed with a total of 10,000 euros, was divided among the four outstanding projects this year:

The prize was divided equally between four projects:

DazugeHören! (Zinnschmelze, KulturKlinker Barmbek, ella Kulturhaus Langenhorn, Goldbekhaus, Hamburg)
KE!NEANGST Festival (KulturMarktHalle e.V., Berlin)
Kiezveränder*innen (criticalform, Berlin)
Straße. Oase (CultureClouds e.V., München)