Patronage

The special task of SozialMarie active patrons is the accompaniment and/or support of one of the prize-winning or nominated projects over the year following their awarding. Every year during the award ceremony on May 1 inspiring personalities overtake the active patronage for those countries which are part of SozialMarie's submission area: Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia.

Slovenia 2023

Milan Hosta

"The movement of every living being is motivated by the interaction of its environment. Balancing the inner with the outer and adjusting the outer to meet the needs arising from within. This is how the meaning of social innovation is found. We are designed to create a meaningful and flourishing society."

Milan Hosta

Milan has worked internationally in academia, private business, and NGO’s. Moreover, he has first and second-hand experience in organisational development, change management, cause marketing, human resource development, training of trainers, lobbying, and formal and informal leadership. In the 20+ years of providing educational, health, and wellness services, workshops, managing CSR initiatives and projects, leadership, and start-up innovation, Milan has chosen to focused particularly on coaching and consultancy support. Milan holds a degree in physical education & sport science and a PhD in philosophy.

"The movement of every living being is motivated by the interaction of its environment. Balancing the inner with the outer and adjusting the outer to meet the needs arising from within. This is how the meaning of social innovation is found. We are designed to create a meaningful and flourishing society."

Slovakia 2023

Jozef Ondáš

Social innovations are innovations whose goal is to fulfill urgent social needs, bring measurable added value in solving social problems and thus promote positive social changes. Inspired by models from the business environment, together with our DEDO Foundation, we have been searching for, proposing and supporting social innovations that have the potential for systemic change for over 25 years, because this way we can also ensure their sustainability.

Jozef Ondáš

From 1990 until 2011 Jozef Ondáš participated in founding and management of IBM Slovakia, SAP Slovakia, and T-Systems Slovakia. He was at the birth of the Košice IT Valley cluster, which significantly contributed to the development of the IT industry in Košice. His lifelong priority is to support creation and development of companies in the ICT industry in the region of Eastern Slovakia. He worked for a long time on the design and implementation of organization management systems (production, finance, controlling, etc.). His strong competence is change and crisis management. He is also involved in the field of education in order to create, through a systemic approach to change, the conditions for every child to experience joy and enthusiasm in learning and building his unique potential.

Social innovations are innovations whose goal is to fulfill urgent social needs, bring measurable added value in solving social problems and thus promote positive social changes. Inspired by models from the business environment, together with our DEDO Foundation, we have been searching for, proposing and supporting social innovations that have the potential for systemic change for over 25 years, because this way we can also ensure their sustainability.

Hungary 2023

Ildikó Simon

I first encountered the term social innovation in 1987, when I was 17. Of course, at that time we didn't call it like that, we simply felt that something had to be done about social exclusion, substance abuse, homelessness. I started working as a peer helper in a youth counselling centre, and from 1995, as a trainer for leaders and staff of the at the time very young NGO sector. Throughout my professional life I have worked on the invention, implementation and development of social initiatives, sometimes as a trainer, sometimes as an activist. I really belive in the power of community initiatives, cross-sectoral collaboration and solutions based on the active participation of citizens. To this day, I actively support other people's projects and work to find meaningful and effective social solutions.

Ildikó Simon

Ildikó Simon is the president of the Hungarian Cromo Foundation, owner of Victum Training and Consulting, trainer, coach. She graduated from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at ELTE in 1998, where she also worked as a lecturer. Between 1995 and 2000 she was Programme Director of the Civil Society Development Foundation and previously she was a grant evaluator for several Hungarian public foundations. Currently she is leads training and organisational development projects for enterprises and works as a researcher, trainer and project manager in European Union projects.

I first encountered the term social innovation in 1987, when I was 17. Of course, at that time we didn't call it like that, we simply felt that something had to be done about social exclusion, substance abuse, homelessness. I started working as a peer helper in a youth counselling centre, and from 1995, as a trainer for leaders and staff of the at the time very young NGO sector. Throughout my professional life I have worked on the invention, implementation and development of social initiatives, sometimes as a trainer, sometimes as an activist. I really belive in the power of community initiatives, cross-sectoral collaboration and solutions based on the active participation of citizens. To this day, I actively support other people's projects and work to find meaningful and effective social solutions.

Czech Republic 2023

Petr Machálek

Social innovations can and do bring new ways of solving a range of social problems, improving the quality of life of many people, filling gaps in social services, helping to protect the environment and much more. I am therefore honoured to take on the role of Patron of the SocialMarie Award.

Petr Machálek

Petr Machálek is a consultant, lecturer, facilitator and collaborator of the OSF Foundation Advocacy Forum. He focuses on advocacy work and systems change, fundraising and organizational development. He works for NGOs in the Czech Republic and abroad. Petr focuses on strengthening advocacy skills of NGOs and civic initiatives, facilitates strategic planning, lectures at workshops and teaches externally at the Faculty of Social Studies in Brno. He cooperates with a lot of Czech foundations. He worked as a director of the Hnutí DUHA - Friends of the Earth Czech republic and held the position of deputy mayor of Brno-Žabovřesky.

Social innovations can and do bring new ways of solving a range of social problems, improving the quality of life of many people, filling gaps in social services, helping to protect the environment and much more. I am therefore honoured to take on the role of Patron of the SocialMarie Award.

Croatia 2023

Davorka Vidović

Every social innovation is important because it shows how it is possible to do things in a different way, in a more humane way, respecting others and the nature of which we are an inseparable part. Each such initiative is like a new lit light in the joint creation of a better world for everyone.

Davorka Vidović

Davorka Vidović is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb, where she teaches courses on Sustainable Development and Social Innovations, as well as Sociology of Croatian Society. Her pioneering sociological study on social entrepreneurship in Croatia, for which she obtained her PhD in 2012, has been widely recognized. Since then, she has conducted numerous studies on social entrepreneurship, social economy, and social innovations. She regularly collaborates with organizations and networks such as CIRIEC, EURICSE, EMES, EUCLID, as well as with local social enterprises and NGOs. She was engaged as an expert in many studies and policy reports for the EC, OECD and others.

Every social innovation is important because it shows how it is possible to do things in a different way, in a more humane way, respecting others and the nature of which we are an inseparable part. Each such initiative is like a new lit light in the joint creation of a better world for everyone.

Austria 2023

Barbara van Melle

I have a long history with SozialMarie. For many years, I served as a member of the jury and as a moderator of the award ceremony, which gave me the opportunity to personally meet great projects and the people who support them. I remember many poignant and inspiring moments that made it clear how important the commitment of each and every individual is. The SozialMarie shows how much positive things can happen when people get involved, actively focus their attention on existing social problems and then sometimes find completely new approaches to solving them.

Barbara van Melle

Barbara van Melle is an entrepreneur and author of successful bread baking books. In 2018, she founded "Kruste&Krume GmbH" and has since been running the first Viennese Bread Baking School with her team, a special shop for flours and a YouTube channel that regularly delivers bread baking videos. She worked for ORF for 25 years as a journalist and presenter, created and hosted numerous TV formats. She became an activist through her activities for the international non-profit organisation "Slow Food", which opposes fast food and fast life. For 12 years, she worked in many national and international projects for the goals of the movement.

 

Photo: Lukas Lorenz

I have a long history with SozialMarie. For many years, I served as a member of the jury and as a moderator of the award ceremony, which gave me the opportunity to personally meet great projects and the people who support them. I remember many poignant and inspiring moments that made it clear how important the commitment of each and every individual is. The SozialMarie shows how much positive things can happen when people get involved, actively focus their attention on existing social problems and then sometimes find completely new approaches to solving them.

Slovenia 2022

Jose Antonio Morales

Social Innovation, social impact, and entrepreneurship are some of the most important concepts in my life. Beyond the hype, those ideas make our desire for a meaningful life reachable. I believe we can't be happy in isolation; therefore, the obvious way to enjoy life is by supporting the environment that nourishes us, creatively solving problems that affect our civilisation and generate synergy through cooperation. SozialMarie allows us to pay attention to what matters most, intending to spread the good news, cases, and models of inspiration.

Jose Antonio Morales

Originally from Peru, Jose Antonio Morales has lived in Slovenia for over 15 years. His professional career kicked off in IT. For the past 20+ years, Jose has worked with corporate teams, SMEs, and young entrepreneurs, always bringing new perspectives, challenging the status quo, and sparking innovation. Since 2012, he has incorporated social entrepreneurship, social impact, and social innovation into his toolkit. He is a proud alumnus of the Ashoka Visionary Program. Today, he is the initiator and co-founder of multiple ventures: Aurora Coworking, Lincoln Island, the European Rural Coworking Project, and Aurora Coworking Network.

Social Innovation, social impact, and entrepreneurship are some of the most important concepts in my life. Beyond the hype, those ideas make our desire for a meaningful life reachable. I believe we can't be happy in isolation; therefore, the obvious way to enjoy life is by supporting the environment that nourishes us, creatively solving problems that affect our civilisation and generate synergy through cooperation. SozialMarie allows us to pay attention to what matters most, intending to spread the good news, cases, and models of inspiration.

Slovakia 2022

Richard Fekete

Social entrepreneurship and social innovations play an important role in tackling poverty, engaging disadvantaged groups, protecting the environment, but also other important social issues that often remain at the bottom of the list of priorities of the rich and powerful. I believe that the profit for a small group of people does not need to be the only aim of business. The economy and entrepreneurs do not need to be the only ones that prosper through social entrepreneurship – it can bring prosperity also to workers and society. And that is one of the main objectives of my work and our department at the bank – to finance projects with social impact and thus, reduce poverty and its impacts. I believe in social justice, equality among people, and equal access for all to wealth, opportunities, and social privileges.

Richard Fekete

Richard Fekete is a graduate of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science of Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, where he specialised in psychology in the workplace and corporate identity. Richard worked for several advertising and PR agencies, as well as worked with start-ups. He also founded a corporate consulting firm and worked in human rights and environmental protection NGOs for many years. Richard was the Managing Director of Greenpeace Slovakia. He currently works at Slovenská sporiteľňa (Erste Group) as a specialist for the non-profit sector and social enterprises and is also the chairman of the Social Economy Academy.

Social entrepreneurship and social innovations play an important role in tackling poverty, engaging disadvantaged groups, protecting the environment, but also other important social issues that often remain at the bottom of the list of priorities of the rich and powerful. I believe that the profit for a small group of people does not need to be the only aim of business. The economy and entrepreneurs do not need to be the only ones that prosper through social entrepreneurship – it can bring prosperity also to workers and society. And that is one of the main objectives of my work and our department at the bank – to finance projects with social impact and thus, reduce poverty and its impacts. I believe in social justice, equality among people, and equal access for all to wealth, opportunities, and social privileges.

Hungary 2022

Zsolt Bugarszki

I first encountered the concept of social enterprise in the mid-1990s, when I was working as a manager of an NGO in the underfunded field of community psychiatry. At that time, I became aware of community psychiatry initiatives in Prague, which systematically set up social enterprises around almost every social service. Later, in Estonia at Tallinn University, I was able to be part of the process of bringing this vibrant innovation culture to social and environmental issues. I am now working in Singapore, where I am witnessing social innovation taking root in multinational companies much more favourably than in Central and Eastern Europe in bringing technological, business, and social aspects of innovation closer together in an unprecedented way.

Zsolt Bugarszki

Zsolt Bugarszki is an Associate Professor in the Social Entrepreneurship MA programme at Tallinn University and the founder of the Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program (SEIP). He currently lives in Singapore, where he works as a mentor for the National Youth Council of Singapore and the local UNDP office. Zsolt has worked in community psychiatric care for over 25 years and was a lecturer at the ELTE Faculty of Social Sciences in Budapest until 2013. After moving to Estonia, his professional interests turned toward social innovation, digital society, and social entrepreneurship. 

I first encountered the concept of social enterprise in the mid-1990s, when I was working as a manager of an NGO in the underfunded field of community psychiatry. At that time, I became aware of community psychiatry initiatives in Prague, which systematically set up social enterprises around almost every social service. Later, in Estonia at Tallinn University, I was able to be part of the process of bringing this vibrant innovation culture to social and environmental issues. I am now working in Singapore, where I am witnessing social innovation taking root in multinational companies much more favourably than in Central and Eastern Europe in bringing technological, business, and social aspects of innovation closer together in an unprecedented way.

Czech Republic 2022

Andrea Tittelová

I consider social innovations the cornerstone to making a difference in people's lives and connecting business and the public sector to reality.

Andrea Tittelová

Andrea Tittelová is a Slovak living in the Czech republic. She leads the Bátor Tábor Foundation Czech Republic, a Hungarian NGO which supports chronically ill children. She is a conscious fundraiser with a focus on women. Her vision in life is for every woman to know how to fund the resources for her cause. She studied political science and worked in lobbying in Washington DC and Brussels. For the last 8 years, Andrea has run her own non-profit, Youth Politics Education.  She is also a partner at Global Institute for Evolving Women. 

I consider social innovations the cornerstone to making a difference in people's lives and connecting business and the public sector to reality.

Croatia 2022

Ivana Tepšić

As the director of the Dubrovnik-based Jadran Cultural Centre, I introduce fellow citizens to the principles of sustainable development, which exist in symbiosis with art and new technologies. My personal hope for society is tied to social innovations like our prototype Trash Pod; it is an autoregulatory device that filters garbage and toxic liquids found on the surface of the sea. The device itself is certainly not a solution to the problem of pollution, but the selfless sharing of its design is. I expect the most from open-source technologies because only they will enable people to create common solutions.

Ivana Tepšić

Ivana Tepšić is the co-founder and director of the Jadran Cultural Centre and the president of the Kazin Cultural and Urban Development Association  in Dubrovnik. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2020. Today, she continues to apply and develop her practical skills and knowledge in economics, management, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, and technological trends in tourism. Her other interests are sociology, psychology, and anthropology. She also engaged in research work, especially on the misuse of artificial intelligence in employment processes.

As the director of the Dubrovnik-based Jadran Cultural Centre, I introduce fellow citizens to the principles of sustainable development, which exist in symbiosis with art and new technologies. My personal hope for society is tied to social innovations like our prototype Trash Pod; it is an autoregulatory device that filters garbage and toxic liquids found on the surface of the sea. The device itself is certainly not a solution to the problem of pollution, but the selfless sharing of its design is. I expect the most from open-source technologies because only they will enable people to create common solutions.

Austria 2022

Yasmin Hafedh (Yasmo)

The world does not stand still; structures are constantly changing as it is probably the movement that holds the world together. Our society, our world, is always in motion and stagnation has no place – the question is only the direction. This also applies to social issues. SozialMarie puts important and innovative approaches in the spotlight. I am very pleased to be able to act as a patron, and I am excited to see the nominees. Social change is taking place, whether we want it or not; we must not forget that we have the power to act and can contribute to making our world a better place.

Yasmin Hafedh (Yasmo)

Yasmo is a Viennese rapper and poet. She has been performing on international stages since 2007. She was the first Austrian to win the German-speaking U20 poetry slam championship in 2009 and the first woman to win the Austrian championship in 2013. She tours the world and released her fourth studio album, "Prekariat & Karat", with her band Yasmo & die Klangkantine in 2019, which was nominated twice for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award. She also co-curated Popfest Wien in 2019 and Kultursommer Wien in 2020.

 

Photocredit: Samira Frauwallner

The world does not stand still; structures are constantly changing as it is probably the movement that holds the world together. Our society, our world, is always in motion and stagnation has no place – the question is only the direction. This also applies to social issues. SozialMarie puts important and innovative approaches in the spotlight. I am very pleased to be able to act as a patron, and I am excited to see the nominees. Social change is taking place, whether we want it or not; we must not forget that we have the power to act and can contribute to making our world a better place.

Czech Republic 2021

Yemi A. D.

For me, social innovation and the constant pursuit of it is more than an effort to make progress; it is a symbol of social maturity and social capital, which is still lacking in our country. I have personal experience and a very personal relationship with disadvantaged people and especially children. My brother has Down Syndrome and his loving personality is a gift to our family. I believe we can learn a lot from people with practical limitations.

Yemi A. D.

Yemi A. D. is a choreographer, producer and founder of two organisations – a non-profit organisation: Dance Academy Prague and an event agency: JAD Productions. He supports disadvantaged children in Indonesia, Nigeria and in the Czech Republic. Yemi A.D. holds a Henry Crown Fellowship from the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He is also an Ambassador for UN Sustainable Development Goals for the Czech Republic and serves as a Czech Goodwill Ambassador, appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In response to the current pandemic crisis, he launched a series of Anti-Panic Conferences in Central Europe and later the Moonshot Platform, which manages innovative ecosystems.  

For me, social innovation and the constant pursuit of it is more than an effort to make progress; it is a symbol of social maturity and social capital, which is still lacking in our country. I have personal experience and a very personal relationship with disadvantaged people and especially children. My brother has Down Syndrome and his loving personality is a gift to our family. I believe we can learn a lot from people with practical limitations.

Slovakia 2021

Adela Vinczeová

The importance of social innovations lies in the ability to impact the everyday life of people and their world. Social innovations attract and interconnect bubbles, create synergies and enable mutual understanding. Mutual understanding is the foundation of successful innovations. Thanks to my work, I come into contact with a number of issues that are not always recognised by society. I am grateful that through the help of SozialMarie, I can broaden my horizons and subsequently offer some insight for the wider public.

Adela Vinczeová

Adela Vinczeová is a radio and TV presenter who has worked on numerous Slovak and Czech awards and shows, such as Czech & Slovak SuperStar, the Anděl music awards and the Czech Lion film awards. She invites unique personalities, experts and professionals from various fields to her Trochu inak s Adelou (A Bit Differently with Adela) talk show, broadcast by Slovak Television. Over the past two decades, she has won several Slovak TV Personality of the Year awards. She has also cooperated with the Goethe Institute Bratislava on several events and language-education projects. Adela actively supports various charitable, not-for-profit and civic society initiatives and regularly becomes the face of public campaigns. 

The importance of social innovations lies in the ability to impact the everyday life of people and their world. Social innovations attract and interconnect bubbles, create synergies and enable mutual understanding. Mutual understanding is the foundation of successful innovations. Thanks to my work, I come into contact with a number of issues that are not always recognised by society. I am grateful that through the help of SozialMarie, I can broaden my horizons and subsequently offer some insight for the wider public.

Hungary 2021

Márton Galambos

For a long time, I was unaware of the fact that I actually grew up in a conservative family. On Sundays, my paternal grandfather sat happily and proudly at the head of the table while my grandmother served him broth in a china bowl. My grandfather was born on a farm and also experienced the persecutions of the 20th century, which meant that in addition to classical values, social sensitivity was also evident in the family every minute of every day. The cornerstones of my values to this day are based on these experiences and I am deeply affected by the randomness and injustice of social inequalities. As editor-in-chief of Forbes Hungary, I therefore give space to NGOs on a monthly basis and I also try to show good donation practices. As an individual, I have an annual “grant program”: for 12 years I have been giving 1-3 percent of my annual income to charities.

Márton Galambos

Marton Galambos is editor-in-chief of Forbes Hungary. Previously, he worked as a journalist and editor for Origo, Figyelő and Kreatív. In 2007-2008, he spent a year in Berlin as part of the European Journalism Fellowships programme at the Freie Universität Berlin. As a student, he also studied for a year in Berlin at the Humboldt Universität and spent an academic year in the United States at McDaniel College in Maryland. 

For a long time, I was unaware of the fact that I actually grew up in a conservative family. On Sundays, my paternal grandfather sat happily and proudly at the head of the table while my grandmother served him broth in a china bowl. My grandfather was born on a farm and also experienced the persecutions of the 20th century, which meant that in addition to classical values, social sensitivity was also evident in the family every minute of every day. The cornerstones of my values to this day are based on these experiences and I am deeply affected by the randomness and injustice of social inequalities. As editor-in-chief of Forbes Hungary, I therefore give space to NGOs on a monthly basis and I also try to show good donation practices. As an individual, I have an annual “grant program”: for 12 years I have been giving 1-3 percent of my annual income to charities.

Croatia 2021

Boris Jokić

I see social innovations as being amongst the most important features of our societies as they act as both a progressive force and a cohesive element. In order to flourish and realise their full potential, they need investment and social attention. I have accepted to act as a mentor in the SozialMarie programme for 2021 in order to foster the development and promotion of these forward-thinking initiatives that aim to ameliorate communities while at the same time giving them new perspectives.

Boris Jokić

Boris Jokić is the head of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. He holds a degree in psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. He holds a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. For many years he was engaged in improving the public education system in the Republic of Croatia. He became known to the general public as the leader of the Comprehensive Curricular Reform movement for elementary and secondary education, which attempted to radically reform the Croatian education system. Due to political pressures that blocked and ultimately prevented the reform, Jokić launched "Croatia can do better" – a wave of protests in which more than 50,000 people participated. 

I see social innovations as being amongst the most important features of our societies as they act as both a progressive force and a cohesive element. In order to flourish and realise their full potential, they need investment and social attention. I have accepted to act as a mentor in the SozialMarie programme for 2021 in order to foster the development and promotion of these forward-thinking initiatives that aim to ameliorate communities while at the same time giving them new perspectives.

Austria 2021

Milo Tesselaar

When we hear the word innovation, most of us still think first and foremost of technology – mistakenly and to the detriment of all of us.  Social innovation in the cultural and political field is still a niche. However, it doesn't have to be that way, and it shouldn't stay that way. Liberation from old social thought patterns relies on a mixture of creative restlessness and an entrepreneurial, curious spirit that can also provide untraditional and unconventional solutions to social and cultural challenges. The end result is an improvement in the living conditions of a great many people - us!  Social innovation is not always as easy to grasp as technical innovation. This makes initiatives like the SozialMarie, which supports social innovations, and the people in and around them visible and all the more important.
 

Milo Tesselaar

Milo Tesselaar is a founder, developer and strategic consultant with a focus on media and politics. Founding Partner of freims, the social innovation consultancy, Founding Partner of the podcast agency OH WOW and Co-Founder of Biorama magazine for a sustainable lifestyle. He has been an Impact Hub Vienna member from its beginnings, co-initiator of the political innovation lab Re-Think Austria (with the European Forum Alpbach) as well as co-founder and leader of the non-partisan platform Demokratie21, which initiates conversations about the future of our democracy.

When we hear the word innovation, most of us still think first and foremost of technology – mistakenly and to the detriment of all of us.  Social innovation in the cultural and political field is still a niche. However, it doesn't have to be that way, and it shouldn't stay that way. Liberation from old social thought patterns relies on a mixture of creative restlessness and an entrepreneurial, curious spirit that can also provide untraditional and unconventional solutions to social and cultural challenges. The end result is an improvement in the living conditions of a great many people - us!  Social innovation is not always as easy to grasp as technical innovation. This makes initiatives like the SozialMarie, which supports social innovations, and the people in and around them visible and all the more important.
 

Croatia 2020

Nenad Maljković

Humans are social species that evolved to its current global domination by being very good at adapting to changes in the environment. Humans adapting are by definition humans socially innovating. However, our contemporary living in the Anthropocene means that our globalised civilisation of industrial-scale consumerism caused risky changes in the environment for our and all other species on the planet. This requires a new, radically different adaptation by means of social innovation.

Nenad Maljković

Cultural creative, network weaver and permaculture designer with particular interest in social and economic aspects of permaculture, effective collaboration in groups and in virtual teams for systemic change. Born 1963 in Pula, working and living in Zagreb, Croatia. Champion of permaculture, Transition and Modern Agile principles among activists and entrepreneurs. Enabler of local, bioregional and global high-trust networks for systemic change with the motto: "towards regenerative cultures through dialogic collaboration". Currently actively contributing to European network ECOLISE and, on a local to planetary scale, to Permaculture Collaboration Laboratory (www.perma.earth), Global Regeneration CoLab (www.grc.earth) and Deep Adaptation Forum (www.deepadaptation.info).

Humans are social species that evolved to its current global domination by being very good at adapting to changes in the environment. Humans adapting are by definition humans socially innovating. However, our contemporary living in the Anthropocene means that our globalised civilisation of industrial-scale consumerism caused risky changes in the environment for our and all other species on the planet. This requires a new, radically different adaptation by means of social innovation.

Czech Republic 2020

Petr Šmíd

The market and money do not solve all known problems. Nor does the state. The current coronavirus epidemic, where people take initiative is a great time to see the importance of social innovations in practice. That’s why I’m excited to be the patron of SozialMarie in this exceptional year.

Petr Šmíd

Petr Šmíd leads Google’s consumer marketing for Central and Eastern Europe, trying to bring the best of Google’s consumer technology to users in this region. He started in McKinsey & Company where he spent 7 years exploring banking and healthcare – with marketing at the core of his work most of the time. Having graduated from CEMS and INSEAD MBA, he’s passionate about education – leading frequent workshops for students, startups, and businesses. Petr is also active in non-profit work, primarily as the chairman of the board of Bátor Tábor foundation in Czechia, helping seriously ill children and their families. 

The market and money do not solve all known problems. Nor does the state. The current coronavirus epidemic, where people take initiative is a great time to see the importance of social innovations in practice. That’s why I’m excited to be the patron of SozialMarie in this exceptional year.

Slovakia 2020

Dušan Ondrušek

We are heading to a time when the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence causes all predictable activities and work tasks that can be automated, planned and performed repeatedly to be planned, automated and executed by computer programmes and robots. However, there are activities robots cannot handle. Those are activities requiring empathy, compassion and feeling of value dilemmas. There will always be a need for humans. Therefore, we need social innovators, people who can be creative, for the benefit of all of us. I value these original people with a good heart.

Dušan Ondrušek

Dušan Ondrušek is a senior trainer and consultant. In 1991, he founded Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS), an oganisation he led for over 20 years. As a psychologist, he devoted himself to counseling, therapy, teaching as well as research into altruism and the effectiveness of various types of training. Since 1990, he has focused on training and consultancy in the field of community conflict relief, non-violent communication, organisational development, participatory education and decision-making process. He has extensive international experience in running conflict prevention and resolution programmes. As a trainer and facilitator, he has led over 2,000 trainings in forty countries. He has given lectures at several universities – Comenius University and University of Economics in Bratislava, European Peace University in StadtSchlaining and Danube University in Krems. He is the author and co-author of 16 books and many professional articles.

We are heading to a time when the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence causes all predictable activities and work tasks that can be automated, planned and performed repeatedly to be planned, automated and executed by computer programmes and robots. However, there are activities robots cannot handle. Those are activities requiring empathy, compassion and feeling of value dilemmas. There will always be a need for humans. Therefore, we need social innovators, people who can be creative, for the benefit of all of us. I value these original people with a good heart.

Hungary 2020

Barbara Erős

The ’89 regime change gave space for social innovation all over the country. At that time with my friends we have participated in building a new country and a new civil society from scratch. My participation as a young adult in a creative, agile, brave cultural and developer association and afterwards getting to know the first generation of social enterprises during the ’90s determined my whole life, enthusiasm and dedication.

Barbara Erős

Barbara Erős is a cultural anthropologist by profession dedicated to civil society and social innovation development for the past 25 years in Hungary, Western Balkans with some sight on Ethiopia and Vietnam. She started her career at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public that fundamentally injected her with the idea of social entrepreneurship. Following she gained experience in designing CSO tailored granting systems and in impact financing at the Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights – DemNet Hungary. In 2017 she was invited to MagNet Bank, Hungary's first and only value-oriented community bank to act as the head of Social Impact and Community Relations Department. As for her greater social role she is working on strengthening the Hungarian social entrepreneurial, start-up and civil society ecosystem.

The ’89 regime change gave space for social innovation all over the country. At that time with my friends we have participated in building a new country and a new civil society from scratch. My participation as a young adult in a creative, agile, brave cultural and developer association and afterwards getting to know the first generation of social enterprises during the ’90s determined my whole life, enthusiasm and dedication.

Austria 2020

Herta Stockbauer

Taking on social responsibility is an essential component in changing our society in a sustainable and positive way. Every individual can make a contribution. All it takes is the will and an open heart. SozialMarie promotes and supports the best and most innovative social projects and makes them visible. It opens new ways and helps us to overcome barriers. It is a pleasure for me to take over the active patronage.

Herta Stockbauer

Dr. Herta Stockbauer studied commercial sciences at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and then worked as a university assistant and lecturer at the Institute of Economics at the Alpen-Adria-University of Klagenfurt. In 1992 she joined BKS Bank and worked in the corporate customer and securities business before moving to the controlling and accounting department. In 1996 she became head of department, in 2004 she became a member of the board of directors and in 2014 she was appointed chairman of the board of directors. She is a member of the Supervisory Boards of Österreichische Post AG and Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG, and is Vice President of respACT – austrian business council for sustainable development.

 

Photo © Arnold Poeschl

Taking on social responsibility is an essential component in changing our society in a sustainable and positive way. Every individual can make a contribution. All it takes is the will and an open heart. SozialMarie promotes and supports the best and most innovative social projects and makes them visible. It opens new ways and helps us to overcome barriers. It is a pleasure for me to take over the active patronage.

Slovakia 2019

Sandra Pázmán Tordová

In my view, social innovation is a good idea turned into practice. An idea, which solves a social problem in a creative and effective way. It is often accompanied by the feeling "Aah, sure!" and also "Why have we not been doing it in this way before?" Its accompanying signs are a smile and appetite for life.

Sandra Pázmán Tordová

Sandra Pázmán Tordová is a co-founder and editor-in-chief of Nota bene, a well-known Slovak street magazine as well as a project supporting homeless people needs. Sandra has vast experience in fundraising, project and PR management and advocacy. She helped develop successful projects to support homeless people social inclusion, among those Nota bene Luggage porters, employment and housing advocacy project Krištof, homeless football team attending the Homeless World Cup and annual Homeless ball. The Nota bene Luggage porters project received the SozialMarie second prize for social innovation in 2015. 

In my view, social innovation is a good idea turned into practice. An idea, which solves a social problem in a creative and effective way. It is often accompanied by the feeling "Aah, sure!" and also "Why have we not been doing it in this way before?" Its accompanying signs are a smile and appetite for life.

Czech Republic 2019

Petra Hubačová

Social innovations are one of the most important elements in solving societal challenges and needs. Today, each of us is overwhelmed with different problems of our own. However, I am sure that every one of us is creative and I firmly believe that all of us can contribute to solving our societal problems and improve the world, even if only a little bit. I am very pleased that I have been given the opportunity and, above all, the confidence to take over the SocialMarie patronage and thus to be a part of this project, which in my opinion is unique and beneficial.

Petra Hubačová

Petra Hubačová hosted one of the first TEDx conferences in Central Europe. She founded TechSquare in 2009 – one of the first coworking centres focusing on start-ups. She also showcased her experience in the Czech Savings Bank (a subsidiary of Erste Bank), where she set up the internal innovation incubator and also worked in the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab. She is currently the head of the Czech branch of Premium Offices and Coworking Business Link, which belongs to Skanska. She is a member of the Board of Via Foundation and mentor of the iKid (Innovative Kid) project, as well as ambassador of the Czech brand Pura Vida.

Social innovations are one of the most important elements in solving societal challenges and needs. Today, each of us is overwhelmed with different problems of our own. However, I am sure that every one of us is creative and I firmly believe that all of us can contribute to solving our societal problems and improve the world, even if only a little bit. I am very pleased that I have been given the opportunity and, above all, the confidence to take over the SocialMarie patronage and thus to be a part of this project, which in my opinion is unique and beneficial.

Hungary 2019

János Czafrangó

As an economist, currently from the world of senior consulting, I not only look at, but also – for almost ten years now – support organisations and companies with social benefits as a professional mentor. Many people ask me: where do I get the energy for this? My answer is that this activity does not consume energy, but brings energy – an inexhaustible source of joy that fills and inspires.

János Czafrangó

János Czafrangó became an economist because he thought he could become anything out of it. In the first decades of his career, however, he was fascinated by the world of numbers: He began in tourism, from where he switched to the world of commercial banks. With twenty years of banking experience, he had the opportunity to use his expertise in the ERSTE Group to develop and finance social enterprises. What fills him with pride the most is that he was elected "Changemaker" of the Hungarian ASHOKA in 2015. Not only does he believe in lifelong learning, he also practices it: he received his last two diplomas at 60+. Since February 2019 he has been a European Financial Advisor, but he has also remained faithful to the social sector: János Czafrangó is a networker, CSR advisor and supporter of start-up-like social enterprises.

As an economist, currently from the world of senior consulting, I not only look at, but also – for almost ten years now – support organisations and companies with social benefits as a professional mentor. Many people ask me: where do I get the energy for this? My answer is that this activity does not consume energy, but brings energy – an inexhaustible source of joy that fills and inspires.

Austria 2019

Michael Köhlmeier

Doing something it can be like creating a world. The world is always one that we make. I am enthusiastic about the initiative of SozialMarie, so that's the way the morning wind is blowing and does good for my lungs.

Michael Köhlmeier

Michael Köhlmeier, born 1949 in Hard on Lake Constance, is one of the most important writers in Austria. His extensive oeuvre has been translated into numerous languages and awarded several prizes. His novels "Die Musterschüler", "Abendland", "Sunrise" and many more enjoy great popularity. His free retellings of ancient legends and stories of the Bible are legendary and were also published as audio books and broadcast on the radio station Ö1. Köhlmeier explores the mystery of fairy tales in his recently published work "Von den Märchen: Eine Lebenslange Liebe". The author has also been successful not only in the creation of radio plays and short prose texts at the beginning of his career, but also as a musician in the cabaret music duo Bilgeri & Köhlmeier. Today he lives as a freelance writer in Hohenems (Vorarlberg) and Vienna.

 

Photo © Reinhard Werner/Burgtheater 

Doing something it can be like creating a world. The world is always one that we make. I am enthusiastic about the initiative of SozialMarie, so that's the way the morning wind is blowing and does good for my lungs.

Slovakia 2018

Ján Orlovský

Social innovation certainly has its own exact definition. For me, it is an activity, which restores the sense of belonging, community and human dignity. It is the Anglo-Saxon "Yes, we can!" projected into meaningful living.

Ján Orlovský

A teacher and diplomat by training, Jan became the Executive Director at Open Society Foundation Bratislava, Slovakia (OSF) in June of 2015. The Foundation established in 1992 by George Soros has been one of the key elements in development of civil society in Slovakia, introducing new perspectives in the areas of humanities, political economy and minority rights. Currently the Foundation operates as an independent entity committed to the mission of its founder via its programs in public affairs and education. Previously, Jan spent ten years with the Slovak Foreign Service (1992-2002) and another ten years as spokesman and CSR coordinator at Západoslovenská energetika (2003-2014), a regional power distribution company, member of E.ON Group. He also serves as a member of Board of Trustees of another four Slovak NGOs.

Social innovation certainly has its own exact definition. For me, it is an activity, which restores the sense of belonging, community and human dignity. It is the Anglo-Saxon "Yes, we can!" projected into meaningful living.

Czech Republic 2018

Tomáš Jindříšek

Helping is commendable. But in many cases helping alone does not suffice. It is necessary seek new approaches and more efficient ways. It is essential to help sustainably and with a positive outcome. Especially social innovations make it possible to find inspiration and light for everyone in today’s turbulent world. It is amazing how we, thanks to SozialMarie, can collectively exchange our experiences in innovations on an international level. It is a great honour for me to be the patron of this award.

Tomáš Jindříšek

Tomáš is managing partner and co-founder of the agency Dark Side. He was director of Ogilvy Interactive, the internet division of the international advertising network Ogilvy. He is chairman of the association for direct marketing, E-Commerce and mail-order sale ADMEZ. He is active member in a number of juries of experts and engaged in projects of famous brands. Tomáš is certificated coach of the International Coach Federation ICF. His hobby is to help in the non-profit sector.

Helping is commendable. But in many cases helping alone does not suffice. It is necessary seek new approaches and more efficient ways. It is essential to help sustainably and with a positive outcome. Especially social innovations make it possible to find inspiration and light for everyone in today’s turbulent world. It is amazing how we, thanks to SozialMarie, can collectively exchange our experiences in innovations on an international level. It is a great honour for me to be the patron of this award.

Hungary 2018

László Ágoston

Economy and civil society, even the states of the world are standing in front of the challenge that, whatever they do, they need to interpret a wholly new category. They must show, how at the end of the 2010s, a service or a process can be imagined good, human, efficient and sustainable. To me, social innovation represents for ten years now how these sectors that search for better solutions for yesterday’s problems with today’s tools, meet. With today’s flow of information a design approach needs to be used, one has to think integrated in digital and non-digital environments – and this is why the business concept cannot remain unviolated. Over the past years, social innovation has become an open freestyle competition, where the socialized mental barriers and our very own mindset are the only obstacle.

László Ágoston

László Ágoston, sociologist within the field of Change Management, worked as market researcher and public opinion analyst, afterwards as analyst for politics. In 2010 he was co-founder of Kreater Agency for Social Innovation (Kreater Társadalmi Innovációs Ügynökség). The Association Innovative Generation !gen (Innovatív Generáció !gen Egyesület) derived from an innovation trainings programme by Kreater that helped to start dozens of social innovations or to an inexpensive fail – including SozialMarie nominees and prize winners. Simultaneously, Ágoston approaches this also out of the business sphere: he searches for opportunities for social innovations – worked as brand strategy researcher at Y&R advertising agency, afterwards as consultant for Service Design for Isobar, again at the Labstore of Y&R Group and today, is the director of Digital and Business Transformation at DDB Budapest.

Economy and civil society, even the states of the world are standing in front of the challenge that, whatever they do, they need to interpret a wholly new category. They must show, how at the end of the 2010s, a service or a process can be imagined good, human, efficient and sustainable. To me, social innovation represents for ten years now how these sectors that search for better solutions for yesterday’s problems with today’s tools, meet. With today’s flow of information a design approach needs to be used, one has to think integrated in digital and non-digital environments – and this is why the business concept cannot remain unviolated. Over the past years, social innovation has become an open freestyle competition, where the socialized mental barriers and our very own mindset are the only obstacle.

Austria 2018

Karl Amon

SozialMarie is the driving force for creative projects that goes far beyond Austria’s borders! SozialMarie – prize for social innovations – is gratitude and recognition to all those people who develop, expand and manage social projects with tremendous commitment.

Karl Amon

Karl Amon, born 1949 in St. Pölten, Lower Austria, studied social science and economics in Vienna. He started to work for the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) in 1976, where he acceded the position of the radio director and was part of the ORF management from 2010-2017. He was pointing the way ahead for a number of new programs and was responsible for changes in the world of Austria’s broadcasting corporation. He developed the television format „Runder Tisch“ (“Round Table”) and during his time as editor-in-chief of the ORF regional broadcasting station Vienna, he re-established Radio Wien (“Radio Vienna“) and engineered the reorganization of Wien heute (“Vienna today“). From 1999-2007 he was radio editor-in-chief, responsible for Ö1, local radios, Ö3FM4, current teletext and Ö1-Inforadio (webradio), again 2007-2010 (ORF- editor-in-chief) and 2010-2017 (ORF-radio director). He was involved in the building and renewal of the new multimedia Video-Wall based TV-Newsroom. Besides all that, he also designed and launched new broadcasting formats like “Klartext” and “Radio on Demand” on the Internet. 2015, Karl Amon initiated the “Austrian radio award” (Österreichischer Radiopreis) that ever since awards radio programs.

SozialMarie is the driving force for creative projects that goes far beyond Austria’s borders! SozialMarie – prize for social innovations – is gratitude and recognition to all those people who develop, expand and manage social projects with tremendous commitment.

Slovakia 2017

Iveta Radičová

Iveta Radičová

Prof. Dr. Iveta Radičová, PhD. is a professor of sociology at Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA) and a special advisor to the EU-Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. She has devoted most of her professional career to social and family policies. In 1992, she founded the non-profit Social Policy Analysis Centre. In 2005, she was appointed as a director of the Institute of Sociology at the Slovak Academy of Science. As a visiting professor, Iveta Radičová has taught at universities in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, UK and USA. She was a Fellow for the Media and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe project at Oxford University in 2013, a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy in 2015 and also a Fulbright fellow at New School for Social Research in NY, USA.

 

Iveta Radičová served as a Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic (SR) from 2010 to 2012. She held the roles of Deputy Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs and Housing at the Slovak National Parliament (2006-2009), Minister for Labour and Social Affairs of the SR (2005-2006) and Minister of Defence of the SR (2011- 2012). As an expert for social policy at the European Commission, Iveta Radičová also participated in European projects focusing on the coordination of social security systems and exchanging information about Member State’s social policies (MISSOCtrESS, FRESCO). Iveta Radičová has published and edited numerous books and studies mapping the transformation of the social system in Slovakia and other post-socialist countries. She is a member of the World Leadership Alliance Club de Madrid and the Council of Women World Leaders.

Czech Republic 2017

Lejla Abbasová

Lejla Abbasová

Lejla Abbasová works as a TV host for major Czech TV channels since she was 18 years old and she also hosts cultural events, conferences and programmes, both in Czech and in English. At the age of 21, she became a spokesperson for the League of Ethnic Minorities and for about five years, she worked as a coordinator of their „Long distance adoption“ project of child sponsorship in Kenya. Later, Lejla founded the Asante Kenya Foundation and the project Medela which aims to help disadvantaged children around the world. Asante Kenya supported 19 projects in Kenya, from education (established schools and a boarding centre for education) to prevention of female genital mutilation. The foundation supports computer study lab e-afric@ Cyber Café classes for children from the slums. Asante Kenya financed the building of five schools. Together with the NGO Njovo, Asante Kenya founded a charity e-shop with African accessories, Imana.cz. Project Medela supports non-profit organisations and their concrete projects. It published a special photo calendar in which photographer Jan Saudek presented famous Czech women. Medela also prepared and published the book „Fairy tales from other worlds“ with fairy tales from the regions where it intervenes. Lejla was the driving force behind the documentary project „Medela“ (which means “help” in Latin) by film director Olga Sommerová (a coproduction with Czech TV). For her humanitarian activities, Lejla Abbasová was awarded a bronze medal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009. She worked as a spokesperson and consultant for the Minister of Human Rights in 2009-2010. Lejla is a patron of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and many other non-profit projects.

Hungary 2017

Tímea Junghaus

Social innovation for me is the core of how we as societies reinvent ourselves. And this „We” really needs reinvention as an inspiration for fighting apathy and the dullness of the ordinary; We need fresh ideas and pioneering new solutions to fight social problems in a sensitive and effective way while considering the requirements of sustainability, social justice, and contemporary creativity. SozialMarie interconnects the noble knights of social transformation and celebrates their imagination and wisdom. It shows the power of placing the collective, the community and the society above individual needs and mere business profit…This is valuable education, it teaches us to transgress our sometimes timeworn, selfish, bored, exhausted, careless selves and learn to seek new ways to thrive.

Tímea Junghaus

Tímea Junghaus is an art historian and contemporary art curator. Since 2010 she is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Art History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She is the author and co-editor of the comprehensive publication on European Roma visual art, Meet Your Neighbours – Contemporary Roma Art from Europe (2006). She was the curator for the founding and the exhibitions of the Budapest based János Balázs Gallery (2004), the Roma component of the Hidden Holocaust-exhibition in the Budapest Kunsthalle (2004), and the First Roma Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Contemporary Art Biennale (2007). Her recent curatorial works include: Roma Body Politics I.-III. at Gallery8, Budapest (2015), Transmitting Trauma? at Aufbau Haus, Berlin (2015), Gypsy – Under Erasure at the Göteborg Biennale (2015), (Re-)Conceptualizing Roma Resistance at Hellerau Center for European Arts, Dresden (2016). She has researched and published extensively on the conjunctions of modern and contemporary art with critical theory. Junghaus is the founding director of the European Roma Cultural Foundation, an independent foundation, which established Gallery8 – Roma Contemporary Art Space. Junghaus is the curator of the Visual Art Section of RomArchive (2017) – the Digital Archive of the Roma.

Social innovation for me is the core of how we as societies reinvent ourselves. And this „We” really needs reinvention as an inspiration for fighting apathy and the dullness of the ordinary; We need fresh ideas and pioneering new solutions to fight social problems in a sensitive and effective way while considering the requirements of sustainability, social justice, and contemporary creativity. SozialMarie interconnects the noble knights of social transformation and celebrates their imagination and wisdom. It shows the power of placing the collective, the community and the society above individual needs and mere business profit…This is valuable education, it teaches us to transgress our sometimes timeworn, selfish, bored, exhausted, careless selves and learn to seek new ways to thrive.

Austria 2017

Augustin (Prince) Pallikunnel

Everywhere in the world, there are countless people without hope and without any expectation that their living conditions could change for the better. If such people, all of a sudden, experience something positive, something that they had never even dreamt of, then they start to look at life from a new, a more beautiful perspective. Once again, they dare to hope, and they can reengage with greater expectations. That our action, like a magician’s, produces a smile on their faces and makes them happy, is what makes our own lives meaningful and perfect.

Augustin (Prince) Pallikunnel

Ever since he came to Vienna at the beginning of the 1990s to study Economics, Augustin (Prince) Pallikunnel has become a signpost for the joyful and respectful co-existence of different cultures. Since 1999, he has been managing the famous PROSI Supermarket in Vienna’s Kandlgasse, where food from all over the world is on offer and which brings cosmopolitanism to the neighbourhood, and a cosmetics and hair shop next-door. On top of that, he organises street parties, “Exotic Festivals”, holds international cooking courses and has recently opened the PROSI Indian Restaurant on the opposite corner. With all this, he has successfully contributed to the living together of people of diverse backgrounds: integration becomes possible when exchanges between different cultures happen on an equal footing. Pallikunnel himself grew up in Kerala in southern India. In 2011, he founded the PROSI Global Charity Foundation, which is dedicated to directly supporting and helping the socially and economically poor across the world and which implements charitable projects on several continents and in Austria.

Everywhere in the world, there are countless people without hope and without any expectation that their living conditions could change for the better. If such people, all of a sudden, experience something positive, something that they had never even dreamt of, then they start to look at life from a new, a more beautiful perspective. Once again, they dare to hope, and they can reengage with greater expectations. That our action, like a magician’s, produces a smile on their faces and makes them happy, is what makes our own lives meaningful and perfect.

Czech Republic 2016

Pavel Kysilka

I have had great admiration for SozialMarie, the prize for social innovation, for a long time. Its participants, their ideas and their involvement are a big inspiration for all of us. Our praise also goes to all the enthusiastic and professional organizers of this project. I feel honored to contribute and support this community.

Pavel Kysilka

Pavel Kysilka is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics in Prague where he also completed his postgraduate research study in 1986. From 1986 until 1990 he worked at the Institute of Economics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

 

Mr. Kysilka worked as the chief economic advisor to the Minister for Economic Policy before he acted as the Vice-Governor and Executive Governor of the Czech National Bank in the early 1990ies. He oversaw the splitting of the Czechoslovak and the implementation of the new Czech currency. From 1994 until 1998 he served as an expert to the International Monetary Fund and participated in the implementation of new national currencies in several Eastern European countries. He was also the president of the Czech Economic Society. Before joining Česká spořitelna in 2000 as Chief Economist, Mr. Kysilka worked in Erste Bank Sparkassen in Prague as Executive Director.

 

In 2004 the Supervisory Board of Česká spořitelna appointed him member of the Board of Directors. From 2011 on Mr. Kysikla served five years as a CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors in the Česká spořitelna. Besides his professional career he a member of the administrative Board of the international opera festival „Smetana's Litomyšl“, the „Leoš Janáček Foundation“ as well as of the Bohemian Heritage Foundation. Furhtermore he is a member of the Board of Trustees at „Dobrý anděl“ Foundation (Good angel).

I have had great admiration for SozialMarie, the prize for social innovation, for a long time. Its participants, their ideas and their involvement are a big inspiration for all of us. Our praise also goes to all the enthusiastic and professional organizers of this project. I feel honored to contribute and support this community.

Hungary 2016

Zsófia Mautner

I believe that for everyone there comes a time when we try to give back all that we have received from others. Only to realize that what we have received is a thousand times more than the small benefits we are able to give back. With cooperation, good ideas and a sense of community, it is definitely possible to change the world.

Zsófia Mautner

Zsófia Mautner is a leading Hungarian foodblogger and food writer and one of the most popular food presenters in Hungary today. She also hosted a daily TV cooking show on the most watched commercial television channel. She is also famous for her spectacular career change: she became a full time culinary expert after a successful career in diplomacy in Brussels. She started her food blog Chili & Vanília documenting her passion for cooking and all things gastronomical while living in Brussels. The great success of this blog lead to her career change. To date she has written eight cookbooks. She lives in Budapest.

I believe that for everyone there comes a time when we try to give back all that we have received from others. Only to realize that what we have received is a thousand times more than the small benefits we are able to give back. With cooperation, good ideas and a sense of community, it is definitely possible to change the world.

Austria 2016

Josef Hader

SozialMarie awards initiatives and projects which contribute to social discrimination. Many people from Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic implement good ideas on a daily base: workshops and trainings for young refugees or children with a handicap, jobs for people without a fixed residence, free of charge psychotherapy, theatre projects, promotion of people who have a gift for something specific, urban gardening - and so much more. I'm looking forward to the 2016 nominated projects. Because we all just improve from the projects: a better future!

Josef Hader

Josef Hader has been one of Austria's best known and most popular cabaret artists since his breakthrough in the 1980s. Born in Upper Austria, as an actor and screenwriter Hader is responsible for some of the most successful Austrian films, such as the movies version of Wolf Haas' "Komm süßer Tod", "Silentium“, "Der Knochenmann" and "Das ewige Leben". With the latter he gave his movie debut in 2015. The the former civil servant at the Red Cross, started with the production of his first own movie called „Wilde Maus“ in autumn 2015. Hader is not only the author of the movie but also acts as the director and main actor. We are curious and looking forward to the release in April 2017! His many honors and awards could fill a gallery, even though he resisted to accept the "Romy" twice as "popularity is not the basis of my work".

SozialMarie awards initiatives and projects which contribute to social discrimination. Many people from Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic implement good ideas on a daily base: workshops and trainings for young refugees or children with a handicap, jobs for people without a fixed residence, free of charge psychotherapy, theatre projects, promotion of people who have a gift for something specific, urban gardening - and so much more. I'm looking forward to the 2016 nominated projects. Because we all just improve from the projects: a better future!

Czech Republic 2015

Zbyněk Frolík

The life and fate have given some of us better start position  for the life, and we could escaped the blows of fate. For many of us it is the reverse. Wealth does not guarantee happiness. The feeling of belonging, togetherness and mutual helping make people the true wealth and donate a strong energy of Life- for those who are better off as well for those who are in need of help. My career life is dedicated to innovation in medical beds sector in hospitals and nursing homes. There I closely aquainte the difficulties of life and social distress. I was therefore very keen on to overtake patronage within the SozialMarie and am proud of it. I look forward to the nominated projects and the ability to support one of the projects.

Zbyněk Frolík

Zbyněk Frolík is the founder and CEO of international holding LINET Group SE which produces health care furniture. A cyberneticist by university training, he was a member of the Science and Research Council of the Czech Republic’s government. In 2011 the Czech president awarded Frolík a medal of merit for his achievements in the realm of economics. In 2009, Frolík received the manager of the year-award, and he is a laureate of other prizes. He works, amongst others, at the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín, at the Czech Technical University in Prague, at the University of Economics in Prague and at the Aspern Institute. He publishes regularly in renowned Czech media. Zbyněk Frolík is the founder of the Academy for Productivity and Innovation. He holds a number of patents. He is the founder and patron of the project “Mathematics with Fun“, that searches for more efficient and more attractive ways of teaching mathematics. He is also a regular sponsor of the National Anti-Corruption Fund and supports the project “Reconstructing the State”. He is furthermore amongst the long-time promoters of a whole range of charitable projects and initiatives.

The life and fate have given some of us better start position  for the life, and we could escaped the blows of fate. For many of us it is the reverse. Wealth does not guarantee happiness. The feeling of belonging, togetherness and mutual helping make people the true wealth and donate a strong energy of Life- for those who are better off as well for those who are in need of help. My career life is dedicated to innovation in medical beds sector in hospitals and nursing homes. There I closely aquainte the difficulties of life and social distress. I was therefore very keen on to overtake patronage within the SozialMarie and am proud of it. I look forward to the nominated projects and the ability to support one of the projects.

Hungary 2015

Ádám Somlai-Fischer

While we can attribute a lot of good to large institutions when it comes to the advancement of our lives, it’s really the small, nimble organisations, groups, and individuals who teach us all how we can best help, and inspire us all in taking action and making a difference. For this I am truly grateful to Sozialmarie for supporting small and important initiatives. NGOs in Hungary today are in great need of help and recognition for their essential work in making this country a better place for us all to live.

Ádám Somlai-Fischer

Adam, an architect and artist, a maker and facilitator, spent the last decade creating innovative technologies and artistic projects which facilitate the creativity of others - ranging from mixed reality interfaces and DIY smarthomes to institutions and workshop methods for innovation.His (collaborative) works have been exhibited at Venice Biennale and dozens of festivals globally and published in leading magazines and blogs. In 2007, he co-founded Kitchen Budapest media lab with Peter Halacsy.

 

He wrote his first prezi in 2001. In his own words: "I hand-coded my first prezi in 2001, just as a personal tool to develop my ideas by seeing relations, the big picture, and then focusing the attention of the audience by creating a visual journey. I've made about 2,500 prezis by now, and after each and every one I think about how to use this language better and how to build this knowledge into the product so that we can help everyone make better prezis.In a prezi, there is always context, there are no slides hiding one idea from the other, and the visual journey is always there to help us orient ourselves in the cloud of information." (Adam Somlai-Fischer, Cofounder of Prezi)

While we can attribute a lot of good to large institutions when it comes to the advancement of our lives, it’s really the small, nimble organisations, groups, and individuals who teach us all how we can best help, and inspire us all in taking action and making a difference. For this I am truly grateful to Sozialmarie for supporting small and important initiatives. NGOs in Hungary today are in great need of help and recognition for their essential work in making this country a better place for us all to live.

Austria 2015

Dominik Cofalka, Christophe Gilet und Wolfgang Schreiner, Partner Mensalia

Patronage. Once again, at last, a truly interesting task! Such an honour! To be patron, to be a father. The German word for patronage is Ehrenschutz – “protection of honour”. What a thoroughly romantic, what a beautifully old-fashioned idea! Before the mind’s eye, one puts on the gleaming suit of armour, takes hold of shield and sword and on one’s trusty steed – true to the knight’s oath –sets forth to protect the weak, the defenceless, the widows and the orphans. To never flee before the enemy. And, of course, to fight Evil. Wherever it appears. Which nowadays, unfortunately, rears its head very unromantically as nasty poverty or other afflictions. More often than our generation has so far been used to.

 

In society and state, credit-financed muddling through is obviously coming to an end – it is payday. And while the welfare state, hard-pressed for money, makes itself scarce with its services, while, simultaneously, a tax oasis-cushioned faction gets richer and richer, more and more of the elderly, single mothers and young families no longer know how to make ends meet by the end of the month. Whoever, in such hard times, goes for real social innovation instead of tax optimisation, profit maximisation and vain charity, has our full support – joyfully and from the bottom of our hearts. (Dominik Cofalka, Partner Mensalia)

Dominik Cofalka, Christophe Gilet und Wolfgang Schreiner, Partner Mensalia

For more than ten years, Mensalia has specialized in financial market communication services; it counts amongst the market leaders in German-speaking business report consulting.

Patronage. Once again, at last, a truly interesting task! Such an honour! To be patron, to be a father. The German word for patronage is Ehrenschutz – “protection of honour”. What a thoroughly romantic, what a beautifully old-fashioned idea! Before the mind’s eye, one puts on the gleaming suit of armour, takes hold of shield and sword and on one’s trusty steed – true to the knight’s oath –sets forth to protect the weak, the defenceless, the widows and the orphans. To never flee before the enemy. And, of course, to fight Evil. Wherever it appears. Which nowadays, unfortunately, rears its head very unromantically as nasty poverty or other afflictions. More often than our generation has so far been used to.

 

In society and state, credit-financed muddling through is obviously coming to an end – it is payday. And while the welfare state, hard-pressed for money, makes itself scarce with its services, while, simultaneously, a tax oasis-cushioned faction gets richer and richer, more and more of the elderly, single mothers and young families no longer know how to make ends meet by the end of the month. Whoever, in such hard times, goes for real social innovation instead of tax optimisation, profit maximisation and vain charity, has our full support – joyfully and from the bottom of our hearts. (Dominik Cofalka, Partner Mensalia)

Czech Republic 2014

PhDr. Tomáš Sedláček

PhDr. Tomáš Sedláček

Tomas Sedlacek (born in 1975) is the Chief Macro-Economist of CSOB Bank, the largest Czech bank, lectures at Charles University, and is a member of the National Economic Council in Prague. He worked as an advisor of Vaclav Havel, the first Czech President after the fall of communism, and is a regular columnist and popular radio and TV commentator.

 

He has earned his PhDr. degree with honors at Charles University, one of the oldest universities in the world, where he lectures Philosophy of Economics. He was named one of the “young guns” and one of the “five hot minds in economics” by the Yale Economic Review.

 

In 2009 he published a book on philosophy, ethics and history of economic thought “Economics of Good and Evil”, which has unexpectedly become a national bestseller, later adopted as theatre piece which keeps selling out the National Theatre in Prague. The book has been translated and published by Oxford University Press in 2011 and other translations are on the way (German, Chinese, Polish, Italian etc.).

Hungary 2014

Edit Sasvári

Edit Sasvári

Edit Sasvári (1962) art historian, director of the Kassák Museum since 2010. Has degrees in Hungarian Language and Literature and History from Janus Pannonius University, Pécs, and in History of Art from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She studied museum management in the Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Vienna. She completes her PhD in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School of the Department of Modern History, University of Pécs, where her thesis will be examined in 2014. She has been working in the museum field since 1988. Her main areas of research are historical modernism and the avantgarde, as well as cultural political aspects of art in the 1960s.

 

Lajos Kassák was an internationally renowned figure of the Hungarian historic avantgarde and the foremost pioneer and advocate of socially committed art in Hungary in the first half of the twentieth century. A central feature of the Kassák tradition is that Kassák always took a clear position on social affairs, but represented creative social action independently of party politics. This aspect of his thinking is still important for socially committed artists in Hungary today. For the Kassák Museum, cooperation with the Sozialmarie could open up the interesting question of where we can draw – or find – the dividing line between socially sensitive art and similarly oriented creative civil initiatives.

Austria 2014

Sima & Ahmad Porkar

We took part in the SozialMarie award ceremony for the first time on 1st of May 2013. We were fascinated by the prize-winning projects and impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of those involved. The idea that patrons choose a project to support appealed to us immediately. We therefore gladly take on this task.

Sima & Ahmad Porkar

Ahmad Porkar is an entrepreneur in Vienna. Sima and Ahmad Porkar were born in Iran, have studied in England and the USA and have been living in Vienna for 30 years.

We took part in the SozialMarie award ceremony for the first time on 1st of May 2013. We were fascinated by the prize-winning projects and impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of those involved. The idea that patrons choose a project to support appealed to us immediately. We therefore gladly take on this task.

Czech Republic 2013

Táňa Fischerová

Táňa Fischerová

Táňa Fischerová is one of the most versatile people of public life in Czechia. She is actress, author, moderator, politician, civil rights activist and collaborates in many non-profit organisations, foundations and associations. From 2002 through 2006 she was an independent Member of Parliament, from 2002 to 2003 President of the Austro-Czech dialogue forum. For the parliamentary elections of 2010, she was at the head of the so called Key Movement (Klíčového hnutí) that still nowadays campaigns for a return of ideals, esprit and ethics into politics and real life and develops alternatives to present-day politics, economics and the role of the individual in society. The programme of this movement is based on the oeuvre of Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and founder of Anthroposophy.

 

She came into contact with SozialMarie only recently. SozialMarie’s objective of looking for innovative social projects in all of Central Europe, document them, make them visible, appreciate and support them impressed her. So she decided spontaneously to become patron of one of the winning projects.

Hungary 2013

András Ujlaky

“Ever since I retired from the world of business, what interests me most are social and community problems that arise in connection with the emancipation of the Roma”, says András Ujlaky. “I have followed several concrete cases from close by, and I have come to know that purposefulness and focus – so common in the world of business – are in short supply in this sector. I will readily put my experience to the disposal of a project that has been awarded a prize by as distinguished an organisation as SozialMarie.”

András Ujlaky

András Ujlaky is an economist. He was Member of the Board of the Hungarian International Bank in London for almost twenty years. Since the year 2000, he has been an activist against the segregation of Roma children at school. He is one of the founders of the Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF), where he acts as secretary to the Board of Trustees. It is thanks to this organisation in the Hungarian village Csörög that the Supreme Court in 2008 confirmed that segregation meant discrimination. CFCF’s project School Enrolment and Community Action in Csörög won the first prize at SozialMarie 2009.

“Ever since I retired from the world of business, what interests me most are social and community problems that arise in connection with the emancipation of the Roma”, says András Ujlaky. “I have followed several concrete cases from close by, and I have come to know that purposefulness and focus – so common in the world of business – are in short supply in this sector. I will readily put my experience to the disposal of a project that has been awarded a prize by as distinguished an organisation as SozialMarie.”

Austria 2013

Dr. Gabriele Zuna-Kratky

“I have the highest respect for people committed to the well-being of others”, says Gabriele Zuna-Kratky when explaining why she readily became patron. “Such commitment needs not only structure, but also recognition, which promotes innovative new projects and also gives the force to carry on with established others. Unfortunately, social projects have become more and more necessary over the last few years in order to ease human suffering – thus sustainable initiatives like SozialMarie can achieve great things. The patronage and the support of one of the coming projects is dear to my heart indeed.”

Dr. Gabriele Zuna-Kratky

Gabriele Zuna-Kratky began her professional career as a polytechnic teacher. During her ten years at this school she studied pedagogy and sociology. She then worked at the Ministry of Education and became Head of the Austrian Phonoteque. On 1st of January 2000 she became the first female director of a technical museum. At this job, besides management and organisation, fund raising and cooperation are amongst her main responsibilities.

 

“I have the highest respect for people committed to the well-being of others”, says Gabriele Zuna-Kratky when explaining why she readily became patron. “Such commitment needs not only structure, but also recognition, which promotes innovative new projects and also gives the force to carry on with established others. Unfortunately, social projects have become more and more necessary over the last few years in order to ease human suffering – thus sustainable initiatives like SozialMarie can achieve great things. The patronage and the support of one of the coming projects is dear to my heart indeed.”

Hungary 2012

Milán Gauder

My wish and duty is to support those who dedicate their work to the transformation of society. Indirectly, but as a leader in a large company, I can do much more for initiatives whose purpose I agree with. I am happy that thanks to SozialMarie I can more easily get to know the fresh initiatives and exciting societal rebuilding projects in the region, and have nothing else to do but help them succeed.

Milán Gauder

As a former student of Budapest's Corvinus University, I was one of the founders of the Planet Project. Thanks to this, in 2001, 100 young people from 45 countries around the world were able to spend a whole year studying sustainable development. Some of this community have since been trying to make the world a better place on a non-profit basis, while others have been emulating the business world. As general manager of MasterCard Europe, I belong to the second group.

 

Milán Gauder chose the Hungarian project Creation-oriented social and integrational model program at the Hetes-settlement of Ózd. He provided about 1000 Euros of sponsorship money for the realisation of the summer workshop and helped the project to get another interest-free loan. The patron himself took part in the settlement's "Megastar" competition as a jury member. A continuation of the cooperation is planned.

My wish and duty is to support those who dedicate their work to the transformation of society. Indirectly, but as a leader in a large company, I can do much more for initiatives whose purpose I agree with. I am happy that thanks to SozialMarie I can more easily get to know the fresh initiatives and exciting societal rebuilding projects in the region, and have nothing else to do but help them succeed.

Austria 2012

Susanne Schubert Lustig & Francis Lustig

Money and empathy alone are not enough for supporting a social project in a meaningful way. What is decisive is the professional selection and accompaniment of the projects. We have known Wanda Moser-Heindl and her Unruhe Private Foundation for years, and we know that such professionalism is guaranteed with the SozialMarie awards. We are thus happy to be patrons to the 2012 edition of the SozialMarie awards.

Susanne Schubert Lustig & Francis Lustig

Susanne Schubert-Lustig is a clinical and health psychologist, mediator, work psychologist and Member of the Board of the White Ring. Counsels and coaches crime victims, conducts relief conversations with them, accompanies them to court … Beyond this she presently works on a thesis “Home Burglary – Consequences for the Concerned”.

 

Francis Lustig was Chairman of the Board and Director, amongst others of Kapital & Wert AG, Köck AG (Cosmos Group) and Meinl Success Finanz Inc. Is Member of the Board of several Austrian private foundations and Director of Lustig+Brey PR, Marketing & Sales Ltd since 2010.

Money and empathy alone are not enough for supporting a social project in a meaningful way. What is decisive is the professional selection and accompaniment of the projects. We have known Wanda Moser-Heindl and her Unruhe Private Foundation for years, and we know that such professionalism is guaranteed with the SozialMarie awards. We are thus happy to be patrons to the 2012 edition of the SozialMarie awards.

Austria 2006

Renate Brauner

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Innovation and creativity are not only important for the success of businesses. They play important roles in social matters also. There too, a continuous development of services for clients is happening. In Vienna, we have a broad network of municipal institutions, NGOs, initiatives and associations. What they offer in social matters is continually being improved. At the centre of this process is the enhancement of the clients’ utility.

 

The SozialMarie awards promote innovation and creativity by encouraging those who run social projects to look for new ideas and experiment new approaches. This “competition of ideas” contributes towards improving the offer and thus people’s lives.

 

I have thus readily agreed to become patron for the 2006 edition of SozialMarie. I wish the initiators and all participants all the best for the future and am looking forward to the 2006 winners!

 

Renate Brauner, MA
Councillor for Health and Social Affairs

Renate Brauner

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Innovation and creativity are not only important for the success of businesses. They play important roles in social matters also. There too, a continuous development of services for clients is happening. In Vienna, we have a broad network of municipal institutions, NGOs, initiatives and associations. What they offer in social matters is continually being improved. At the centre of this process is the enhancement of the clients’ utility.

 

The SozialMarie awards promote innovation and creativity by encouraging those who run social projects to look for new ideas and experiment new approaches. This “competition of ideas” contributes towards improving the offer and thus people’s lives.

 

I have thus readily agreed to become patron for the 2006 edition of SozialMarie. I wish the initiators and all participants all the best for the future and am looking forward to the 2006 winners!

 

Renate Brauner, MA
Councillor for Health and Social Affairs

Austria 2006

Maria Rauch-Kallat

Maria Rauch-Kallat