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Chester Holme / THE MIRROR
After the forms of living of the future and ideas for better social coexistence, the Social Design Award in the second year since Corona has focused on the smallest community: the family.
We were looking for projects, campaigns or ideas that support families.
The “garden to take root” in Freiburg, the “mini bike park” in Freiberg and the “family audio book” project from Cologne won.
The idea for the family audio book goes back to the radio journalist and audio biographer Judith Grümmer.
She wanted to give terminally ill mothers and fathers a chance to tell their children something about themselves, even when they are no longer alive.
"Everything that has a voice survives" is the motto.
Financed by donations and scientifically supported, the parents have the opportunity to record a professional audio book with Grümmer and her team.
What is this acoustic legacy about?
"In the end there are 50 chapters of laughter and two chapters of illness," one participant once summed up.
There was an audience award for this idea.
Almost a third of all votes went to the project, which now consists of around 50 volunteers. You have recorded more than 80 audiobooks and given them to families. In it, the parents tell personal things about themselves, about the family, read stories or sing - the main thing is that at the end the children have something that helps them to keep a beautiful and vivid memory of the lost parent.
Almost 150 participants have been accepted into the project since 2017 - with up to 100 working hours per audio book.
During this time, the interviews are conducted, moderations are spoken and even your own pieces of music are composed.
Everything so that in the end the parents have created a work that will outlast them.
A production costs 5,000 to 6,000 euros.
The prize money of 2500 euros is just enough for half an audio book.
If you want to support the association, you can donate here.
Jury award for a joint project from Freiburg
The "garden to take root" receives the jury award this year. In the beginning there were eight homeless people and a demolished house in Freiburg. One of the new residents, a father of two, first grew vegetables in his garden. With the plants, the relationship with his two children and their mother also flourished. In the end there was a garden project that not only brought a family and the residents together, but also initiated contacts with the neighborhood.
This is important, because at first the settlement of the homeless was viewed very suspiciously by the neighborhood.
In the meantime a place has been created for gardening and meeting together.
The project creates community among the rather involuntarily thrown together homeless people, strengthens their respective family structures and ensures contacts and trust building with the residents.
With his commitment, award winner Youssouph Seydi empowered himself and increased his own room for maneuver within society, said juror Jolanthe Kugler from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland in her laudation.
It is therefore a question of social design in the best sense of the word, namely design that is not about the design of products or things, but rather that focuses on people and their needs.
This time, a hands-on project from Baden-Württemberg was awarded the BAUHAUS Special Prize. In Freiberg, a small course for mountain biking was created there during the corona pandemic. Around 30 children and young people built on the route. When hammering, sawing, drilling and screwing together, not only did the bike park take shape, new friendships were made at the same time. The parents also came into contact with each other through the project and got to know each other better. The children and young people have improved their environment in several ways.
With the Social Design Award, SPIEGEL and SPIEGEL WISSEN, in cooperation with the trading company Bauhaus, honor non-profit projects that help to cope with everyday life, enrich it or impart education and skills.
"For strong families" was the motto of this year's competition.
You can find the shortlist here.
