French-German Citizens’ Competition „On y va!“

First Prize Awarded to the School Student Theater Festival „Approche!“

Stuttgart, 21 November 2008 – „Approche!“, a school student festival for the performing arts, won the first prize in the competition „On y va!“, a German-French program for socially committed citizens. With their three-day theater festival in Strasbourg in May 2008, the association OuverTüre e.V. (Frankfurt am Main/Germany) and Maison de Heidelberg (Montpellier/France) convinced the jury of the competition, which was arranged for the first time by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Today, „Approche!“ was honored with the first prize endowed with €5,000 in Stuttgart Town Hall.

The second prize with prize money of €3,500 went to the project „Ferne Fantasien betrachten meine Stadt“ (Distant Fantasies Regard My City). In this project, citizens from Nantes (Association La Glacière) and Berlin (Friends and Sponsors of Narrative and Museum Art/Museum der Unerhörten Dinge) launched an artistic correspondence to form impressions of their respective ‘other’ city. The third prize worth €2,000 went to the project „Berlin, Marseille, a Green Encounter“. The associations südost Europa Kultur e.V and L’ARTichaut brought children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in Berlin and Marseille together to cultivate a garden. Knowledge about good land use, environmental protection and healthy nutrition was thereby communicated to the children in a playful form.

More than 70 French-German tandem teams took part in the competition „On y va!“, which was arranged for the first time. The participants included schools, partnership associations, cultural and social facilities, as well as environmental and volunteer associations. Fourteen projects were selected to receive funding. With this German-French competition, the Robert Bosch Stiftung wants to encourage citizens in both countries to engage in joint activities that can make a difference. Doing so will enhance mutual understanding and civic commitment at the same time.