The German government and the German Council for Sustainable Development honor exemplary dedication to generational dialogue and present awards in Berlin

Berlin, 27 May 2009 The German government and the German Council for Sustainable Development held an awards ceremony for the winners of the "Generational Dialogue in Practice – Citizens Initiate Sustainability" in Berlin on Wednesday. Ten of the most outstanding initiatives in this nationwide contest were honored as "lighthouse projects."

The members of the 40 voluntary groups from across Germany show exemplary dedication to bringing different generations together. Thanks to their high degree of personal commitment in a variety of areas, including educational sponsorships, intergenerational residential projects and neighborhood networks, they enhance a sense of community within Germany's changing social fabric.

"The competition shows how consciously and positively many people in Germany are dealing with the demographic transition in our society," said the head of the jury, Hans Geisler, a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development. The professionalism and the sense of environmental responsibility among the voluntary groups as they work toward generational dialogue is "impressive and encouraging," says Geisler. Many of the award-winning initiatives are more than just socially exemplary. They also exceed in terms of energy-efficient buildings, regional procurement and the use of renewable sources of energy.

"Generational Dialogue in Practice – Citizens Initiate Sustainability" is a contribution to the national sustainability strategy of the German government, which jointly organized the competition with the German Council for Sustainable Development. The German government is represented by the Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development.

"Despite a wide range of various forms of involvement, and regardless of whether the initiatives are launched by older or younger people – all of the selected projects have one thing in common: bringing people together and promoting shared experiences," said Gerd Hoofe, State Secretary for the Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. They prove that "everyone benefits from civil involvement – individuals as well as society," says Hoofe.

There was a total of €100,000 in prize money and 336 project groups took part. Entries were evaluated by a jury consisting of representatives of community umbrella organizations, the German Institute of Urban Affairs, the scientific community, the German Council for Sustainable Development and experts on civil society involvement and local sustainability.

Here is a list of the award winners (PDF, 57KB, in German), including the lighthouse projects. There is a project map of the award winners (PDF, 1.2MB, in German) available, too.

Photos of the award winners will be available for downloading from 27 May 2009, 4 p.m., at www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de/projekte/eigene-projekte/bin [in German].

You will find additional information on the award winners, the competition and the German government's sustainability strategy from 28 May 2009 at www.dialog-nachhaltigkeit.de.

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Download this press release as a pdf file (PDF, 44KB)

Further Information:

German pages of the competition "Citizens initiate sustainability" on the Council´s website