The Serbian non-governmental organisation Atina has won this year’s Council of Europe Bank (CEB) Award for Social Cohesion, with its ‘Bagel Bejgl’ social enterprise. Humana Nova (Croatia) and L’outil en main (France) were the runners-up. The announcement was made at the award ceremony, held this year in Athens, Greece, ahead of the CEB’s annual Joint Meeting.
Through its social enterprise ‘Bagel Bejgl,’ Atina provides employment and economic independence to women victims of gender-based violence and trafficking. Many of them have neither formal qualifications nor work experience, which excludes them from the regular jobs market. Through a culinary employment training programme the survivors gain hands-on experience that makes them employable and helps them rebuild their lives. Atina will receive a €25,000 prize for significantly contributing to social cohesion in an innovative and effective way.
“It is a great honor for Atina and its women's social enterprise ‘Bagel Bejgl’ to be recognised as bringing valuable change in the lives of the women and girls we serve, and for our innovative work in favour of social change, advocacy for women’s and girl’s economic rights and in the fight for a just world,” said Marijana Savic, Founder and CEO of Atina.
“Atina’s project offers to the survivors of gender-based violence and trafficking a possibility to lead an economically independent life and regain their deserved place in society. We can only commend and highly support this extraordinary initiative,” said Marja Ruotanen, Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity and President of the Jury.
This year, for the first time, the CEB Award is honouring two additional social projects, to be rewarded €5,000 each. Humana Nova is awarded for its project on upcycling and recycling textile waste in Croatia. The CEB Award Jury was impressed by their transformative community work as an excellent example of social inclusion and climate action going hand in hand.
“It’s a privilege to be recognized for our contribution to the community. Thank you for shinning the light on our dedicated work and giving us great motivation for future initiative,” commented Karolina Kraljic from Humana Nova.
L’outil en main is recognised for its work on initiating young people in France – often in precarious situations or from underprivileged background – into traditional craftsmanship. The intergenerational dialogue between the youngsters and seniors who volunteer to transmit their know-how and expertise is particularly innovative. The project also makes a valuable contribution to ensuring that the elderly remain well active and connected in the society. The intergenerational dialogue between the young people and seniors who volunteer their skills was deemed particularly innovative, as it also contributes to preventing social isolation of the elderly.
“By making things, we understand the world better, “said Emilie Scoccimaro on behalf of L’outil en main.
More information: award.coebank.org.
