On November, 24th, at 6 p.m., around 100 people filed into the local town hall, eager to learn who this year's winners of the 5th Harburg Sustainability Prize would be.
20 applicants had tried for the prize valued 2,000 euros in total. Needless to say, not everyone could win. Topics included local and global activities that, for instance, preserve or create natural habitats or arable land, improve reading skills of refugee pupils or artfully slow down newsroom business.
This year, the jury honoured three educational activists with the Fifth Harburg Sustainability Award:
The team of the "Kindergarten Schatzkinder", a nursery school in Langenbek, received 400 euros for their rather impressive activities to protect wild bees. "We are absolutely surprised and very happy," stated Andrea Sulewsky, director of the nursery school.
600 euros went to two grammar school students at the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium Harburg who set up a school shop selling ecologically and socially responsible notepads, booklets, pencils, markers and the like and fair-trade chocolate to their fellow students. "That's really great," the young ladies said. " We will use the money for marketing purposes," added Mrs Hansen, their headteacher.
The winner was Jan Robert Wibbing, a student at the local Technical University of Hamburg (-Harburg). He received 1,000 euros to carry on with his "Slope Farming Project in Arba Minch, Ethiopia". " I am really grateful for this award. Believe it or not, but there's a lot one can achieve with this money", Wibbing explained overjoyed.
Iri Antler, a Russian singer based in Harburg, covered songs by Adele, Tori Amos, Placebo but also sang her own songs.
After the usual foto shooting with the winners, all the other applicants and the jury, people enjoyed a variety of organic and fair-traded finger food and seasonal non-alcoholic drinks.
Around 9 p.m., a successful evening drew to a close and visitors repeatedly thanked the organisers for "such a wonderful time".
Chris Baudy
Foto credits: Gisela Baudy (2,3), Chris Baudy (1)